In our real estate business, it seems like there are two real estate markets. The first real estate market is the "distressed" market - foreclosed homes, REOs (real estate owned) and homes being sold under a lender short sale. The second real estate market is the "normal" market - home sellers who a...

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reports that January pending homes sale numbers were down (is this a surprise?), reaching the lowest number since the NAR started reporting the Pending Home Sales Index (PSHI) in 2001. In that year, the PHSI was set at 100. At the end of January, this sam...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has revised the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan limits. You can check the FHA Mortgage Limits for area(s) online here: FHA Mortgage Limits . These limits are to remain in effect until December 31, 2009....

Have you heard about the microblogging and social networking platform known as Twitter? It's quite the "buzz" on the internet. We "follow" the updates (known as "tweets") of friends, fellow real estate professionals, interesting people, some celebrities, companies, news organizations and individuals...

Freddie Mac has launched a new workout plan for high risk loans, trying to help borrowers keep their homes. Calling it their "Workout Strategy For High Risk Loans", they are utilizing specially trained counselors from outside sources. "Under the new pilot, a selected portfolio of higher risk mortgag...

Details about the housing plan are available from the U.S. Treasury Department website - Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan Fact Sheet...

The National Association of Realtors® reports that "Most metropolitan area median home prices, impacted by distressed sales, trended down in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. At the same time, existing-home sales rose in only six states from the fourth quarter of 2007." It's the foreclosures ...

The National Association of Realtors® is launching a weekly real estate radio show. Real Estate Today is a two hour show that can be heard on SIRIUS and XM Radio starting February 14. The website says "...the program delivers everything you need to know about your home, from buying and selling tips...

If you are behind in the payments on your mortgage, you may be contacted by companies offering to help you with the "loan modification" process. However, there are companies and people who are not legitimate and who are taking advantage of consumers. The California Department of Real Estate has issu...

California homes sales increased 84.9% in December, compared with the same period last year. The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reports that "Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 544,580 in December...Statewide home resale activity increase...