With literally thousands of homes on the market, selling your home fast and for profit isn’t always an option. But there is one group out there that wants to give that idea a shot. Home auction houses are gaining in popularity.

The hope is to sell your home in half the time a realtor does for about the same amount of money.

* Full story: Available on abc15.com

There are plenty of houses for sale, and they are not moving nearly as quickly as they did during the dot-com boom of 1995-2001. So if you want your house to sell and not sit, here are some tips to consider:

1. Think like buyers
2. Offer a complete package
3. Price is critical
4. Go for emotional appeal
5. Incentives
6. Curb appeal
7. Improvements should make financial sense
8. Look for marketing prowess
9. Watch home improvement videos
….plus more

* Fully story: Available on Burlington Free Press

Bay Area home sales last month fell to their lowest level of any August in 15 years, reflecting consumers’ wariness of the housing and mortgage markets. And so far, there are few signs that more buyers will leap into the market soon.

In many of Santa Clara County’s more affordable neighborhoods, home values fell compared to last summer, while in many affluent areas, values rose even as sales continued to slow. The median price of the resale houses sold in Santa Clara County was $805,000, flat from July and up 11 percent from August 2006, DataQuick Information Systems reported Thursday.

* Fully story: Available on San Jose Mercury News

There’s no real estate slump for Cecily Tippery.

As the Realtor with Coldwell Banker Amaral & Associates in Brentwood drove her pewter- colored Lexus last week to some of the 100 homes she is selling, her cell phone rang constantly with updates on properties and questions from her staff. Within a two-hour period, she stopped by one house to take photographs, another to make a pricing estimate, visited a competing agent, and supervised a crew cleaning up a property.

The worse times get in the housing market, the better they are for Tippery. That’s because she specializes in selling foreclosed homes that have been repossessed by lenders.

* Fully story: Available on SFGate.com

You’re angry with yourself because fall is just around the corner and you failed to take advantage of the traditional spring-summer home-selling season. Don’t despair. You could still get a good deal for your house before the end of the year. Real estate specialists say that although housing cycles are always changing, there is no one right time of year to sell your property. They say that no matter when you put your place on the market, you’ll maximize the opportunity if you price smartly from the outset and make sure your home has cosmetic appeal to visitors.

“Even in the middle of the winter holiday season, you’re going to have buyers out there. And most people who buy during the holidays are highly motivated. They’re quality buyers, not just lookers,” says Gregory Hodges, first vice president of the Council of Residential Specialists, an organization of real estate professionals.

* Fully story: Available on Contra Costa Times

In today’s market some buyers are finding it is increasingly difficult to obtain home mortgage loans. The problem does not necessarily relate to credit problems or the inability to provide a down payment, although prospective homebuyers without good credit could find that it is increasingly difficult to obtain a mortgage. In the past when a home buyer without good credit wanted to purchase a home, they could do so with the expectation that they would need to pay a higher interest rate. Today, that is no longer necessarily the case. Prospective home buyers with credit scores lower than 700 discover they have trouble getting financing.

According to a report recently released by Gallup, one in five people know someone who has tried to get a home mortgage loan but has been turned down.

The issue at the heart of the current home mortgage crisis is tied to the fact that there is simply less money currently available for home mortgages. In particular, it is becoming increasingly difficult for borrowers who have small down payments, low credit scores and very little or no equity in the current homes to obtain a home mortgage.

Additionally, many lenders are also backing off on their willingness to make loans that are not backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae; two government entities which purchase loans. Since these two entities cannot purchase jumbo mortgages it is also becoming more difficult for borrowers to obtain nonconforming loans, also known as jumbo loans.

These are mortgages that are over $417,000. While in some areas this is not much of a problem in other areas it is becoming a crisis, particularly in areas where average home prices tend to be quite high. In these areas a larger number of buyers simply must have jumbo loans in order to purchase a house because the home prices in their local area are quite high. In Florida, California and Florida this has become a serious issue.

Many borrowers are finding that even if they are considered to be an excellent loan candidate if their mortgage amount is above the limit set by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae there could very well be a significant increase in the interest rate they are charged. Whereas in the past if you were not a prime borrower you could usually depend on paying a higher interest rate in order to get a loan, today if you are not a prime borrower, you may find that it is difficult to even get a loan.

It is not uncommon at all for jumbo loans to now carry interest rates ranging up to 8% if you can get one at all. This is 1.5% higher than rates offered just a short time ago.

Home buyers who are not able to make 20% home down payment are also feeling the crunch of the closing housing market. Once again, buyers who have good jobs and steady credit are finding that if they do not have that magic number for a down payment the ability to obtain a mortgage is becoming difficult.

Obtaining a second mortgage is also becoming more difficult.

It is not just small banks that are feeling the pressure either. Large banks are also experiencing problems related to the housing crunch. Profit margins have become quite small and as a result many banks have simply stopped offering a number of the loan programs they once made available. This has particularly proved to be the case with the riskier loan programs.

Considering the rapid rise of foreclosures across the nation many people feel the tighter restrictions are necessary in order to control a lending market that previously made loans available to borrowers who had poor credit, few assets or were unable to provide proof of their income.

As a result, many people who would have been able to qualify for a loan a short time ago, even a few weeks ago in some cases, are now finding they are no longer able to obtain a mortgage. In some cases, buyers may need to settle for less expensive homes but may still be able to obtain a loan. Some buyers may also find that while they can obtain a home mortgage it will be at the sacrifice of paying higher interest rates. In other cases, buyers may need to simply wait to buy.

While mortgages have become more difficult to attain you will have a better change of getting a home mortgage if you have a good steady job, can prove your income, you can make a down payment of at least 20% and your credit is stellar.