- Heating up buyers in a chilly real estate market
- More ideas to sell your house during the winter season from MSNBC:
Take advantage of gas and wood fireplaces to create ambience, but for wood-burning fireplaces, open the damper, put a grate in front and don't leave it unattended for very long. You don't want your hopes of a big offer on your house to literally go up in smoke.
- 2007-02-03
- Ocean real estate: The next boom?
- When land becomes scarce and oceans rise Business 2.0 describes your next home under the sea:
The idea isn't so far-fetched. As Earth gets increasingly crowded and polluted, some 225 million square miles of prime real estate representing 71 percent of the planet's surface is largely unused. It's remarkable considering the oceans promise plenty of living space, fresh seafood, entertainment, and desalinized water. Surely, technology can make this happen.
- 2007-02-05
- Hot words to sell your home
- MSN will help you find the best words to describe your home:
The right phrasing in real estate listings can speed a sale and even boost the final price, a Canadian study says. And here's a tip: If you must sell, don't put "must sell" in your ad.
- 2007-02-09
- 8 trends that will help sell your home
- Market Watch has suggestions for a more appealing home:
Glass tiles for kitchens and bathrooms are in; granite countertops are out. And those bamboo floors? They're so yesterday.
- 2007-02-13
- Record home price slump
- From CNNMoney.com:
Prices slumped 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter a year earlier, according to the report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That's the biggest year-over-year drop on record and follows a 1.0 percent year-over-year decline in the third quarter.
- 2007-02-16
- Homebuilder confidence jumps
- From Reuters, the low mortgage rates and energy prices lead to an increase in homebuilder confidence:
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index jumped to 40 from 35 in January, its highest reading since hitting 42 in June 2006, the group said. The index has also rebounded from a 15-year low of 30 notched in September 2006.
- 2007-02-16
- Home sales, prices fell again at end of 2006
- From the AP, a report says sales are down in 40 states during the last 3 months of last year:
While some economists said they believed the worst may be over for housing, others predicted more price declines to come until near-record levels of unsold homes are reduced.
- 2007-02-16
- U.S. mortgage applications rose in latest week
- From Reuters:
Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week, driven by an increase in loan refinancing, an industry trade group said Wednesday.
- 2007-02-16
- Homeowners' most common nightmares
- Gerri Willis from Money Magazine has advice to put you at ease when owning a home:
Worried that something is seriously wrong with the crack in the basement? Stop fretting and get advice. Home inspectors don't work only for buyers; you can call one anytime to get an educated opinion about whatever keeps you awake.
- 2007-02-20
- Home buying: Buy now? Or wait for a price drop?
- Money Magazine finds out if you should hope for prices to fall or take advantage of low mortgage rates:
For example, the monthly payment on a $300,000, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at today's rates is $1,847. Rates would have to rise to 8.1 percent - nearly two full percentage points - before a $250,000 loan would cost that much.
- 2007-02-21
- The Housing Market Puzzle
- Kiplinger has an analysis of the housing market today:
Reports released last week showed that housing starts, home sales and median home prices continued to fall. But so far there is no sign of a housing bubble popping, with prices collapsing in major markets, as some feared. There remain pockets of price appreciation across the U.S., even in the Northeast.
- 2007-02-21
- Products that turn home into heaven
- MarketWatch has the latest products from the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla:
An oven you can turn on via e-mail, doors that unlock with fingerprint scans and a high-tech bathroom shower with multiple heads -- these are among the latest innovations for living spaces.
- 2007-02-25
- Most affordable housing markets
- The most affordable and least affordable housing markets from CNNMoney.com:
Indianapolis was, once again, the most affordable major housing market in the United States. The median home sold there, already low at $122,000 during the previous quarter, fell to $113,000 during the last three months of the year. With a median income of $65,000, 89 percent of the homes sold were affordable to the average family.
- 2007-02-25
- Existing home sales rise as prices fall again
- MSNBC reports on the increase of home sales for January:
The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of previously owned homes rose by 3 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 3.3 percent increase in January 2005, a time when housing was roaring toward the peak of its five-year boom.
- 2007-02-27