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RISMEDIA, April 28, 2010—(MCT)—Sales of new homes broke out of a four-month winter slump with a bang in March 2010, soaring 26.9% over February, the government recently said, evidence that federal tax incentives for buyers due to expire next week are giving the housing market a boost. The March figures were meager by historical standards, bouncing off an all-time low in February, and analysts said job creation was paramount for the momentum to sustain itself. "It shows that the tax credit still has some punch, and we will probably see some better sales numbers for April," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com.

RISMEDIA, April 23, 2010—Buyers responding to the home buyer tax credit and favorable affordability conditions boosted existing-home sales in March 2010, marking the beginning of an expected spring surge, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 6.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units in March from 5.01 million in February, and are 16.1% above the 4.61 million-unit level in March 2009.

RISMEDIA, April 23, 2010—High-end housing markets were home to the biggest bargains for buyers in the first quarter of this year, according to a Home Hunter Report released by ZipRealty, one of the nation’s leading

RISMEDIA, April 22, 2010—(MCT)—Builder Marshal Granor is hoping this will be a banner month for home sales. In fact, an eight-foot-long banner announcing Granor Price Homes' "Let's Make a Deal Weekend" will greet prospective buyers at its developments on two April weekends. The Horsham, Pa., firm is among thousands of builders and real estate agents nationwide attempting to lasso home buyers before federal tax credits expire on April 30.

RISMEDIA, April 22, 2010—Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor of one of the world’s largest residential real estate sales organizations, announced the results of its First-Time Home Buyers and Sellers Survey, which captured and compared the opinions of prospective home buyers and sellers who either purchased or sold their first home within the past year or are planning to buy or sell their first home within the next year. More than 80% of first-time home buyers and sellers feel the current housing market is more affordable today than this time last year, despite the fact that 40% of all respondents are more worried about the economy compared to this time last year.

RISMEDIA, April 21, 2010— A professional home inspection can not only provide a great education about the home's systems, but also be a crucial tool in negotiating the most equitable price on the home, according to HouseMaster, one of the first and largest home inspection franchisors in North America. "Our experience and research shows that approximately 40% of resale homes have at least one defect that can cost a home buyer a minimum of $500 to repair," said Kathleen Kuhn, President of HouseMaster.

RISMEDIA, April 21, 2010—In the current real estate market, you need every tool available to get would-be clients to sign on the dotted line. Home buyers may be waiting for real estate prices to bottom out so they can purchase

RISMEDIA, April 20, 2010—(MCT)—Fresh data on new construction of U.S. housing units revealed an upward trend in place since the beginning of the year, with an initial report of February 2010 weakness revised away. Starts rose 1.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted 626,000 annualized units, the Commerce Department recently reported. This was stronger than the 610,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Even more surprising, February starts were revised higher to a 616,000 pace from the 570,000 previously reported.

RISMEDIA, April 19, 2010—(MCT)—Latasha Hall never envisioned herself a homeowner. But by the end of the month, she will be. Just in time. With the soon-to-expire tax credit for first-time buyers as an assist, the single mother plans to close on a $166,650 three-bedroom house in Clifton Heights, Pa. "If it hadn't been for the credit, I wouldn't have done it," Hall said. To be eligible for the federal tax credits—up to $8,000 for qualified first-timers and up to $6,500 for certain repeat buyers—houses must be under contract by April 30, with settlement by June 30, 2010.

RISMEDIA, April 14, 2010—A new national survey gauging attitudes toward housing finds that two-thirds of Americans (65%) still prefer owning a home, despite the challenging economic environment and the housing downturn. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, conducted between December 2009 and January 2010, polled homeowners and renters to assess ...

RISMEDIA, April 10, 2010—(MCT)—Living in a world of tax apps for iPhones and e-filing of tax returns, you do a double-take after finding out that the Internal Revenue Service wants paper from taxpayers filing for a home buyer credit. "If I have a Form 5405 in my return, I have to paper-file, period," said Don Schippa, president of Tax Research Services in Southfield, Mich. "They're forcing you to file a paper return."

RISMEDIA, April 8, 2010—For many home buyers who use the government’s 203k program to renovate a home, the emphasis may be on flooring, kitchen/bath renovations or fencing. However, for one Florida home buyer, his concern was a bit more serious—ensuring a fix to the home’s electrical problems and purchasing a new air-conditioning/heating system to replace the system that had been stolen from the foreclosed home. “They ripped it right out,” says Robert “Matt” Vanderbrink of Eustis, Florida. “It was a clean break.”

RISMEDIA, April 7, 2010—According to the first quarter market report recently released by Brown Harris Stevens, the average apartment price of $1,369,883 was up slightly from last quarter

RISMEDIA, April 5, 2010—(MCT)—If you're a prospective home buyer exploring real estate this spring, there's plenty to learn about, from bank-owned properties to the strict criteria for getting a mortgage these days. And now the federal government has added something to the mix, aimed at helping buyers shop for loans: the revamped Good Faith Estimate.

RISMEDIA, April 1, 2010—(MCT)—A national index of home prices rose unexpectedly in January 2010, with California cities posting strong gains, but some experts warned that the nation's struggling housing market could be headed for another dip. The closely watched Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 0.3% from December on a seasonally adjusted basis. That marked eight consecutive months of home values improving or at least holding steady. The index also was down 0.7% from the same month last year, the nearest that the year-over-year reading has come to positive territory in three years.