Homebuyers are finding tougher guidelines and higher premiums from insurance carriers, and there certainly aren’t any bargains for sellers who need to move – or would simply like a change of scenery.

In a recent case, owners decided to sell a three-bedroom, three-bath primary residence and move into a nearby rental property that they owned that better fit their needs. The primary residence, on a gorgeous acre with wonderful landscaping and a couple of ponds, demanded more time and maintenance than the owners had to give.

“We put it on the market in February and the place still hasn’t sold,” said Pat Hanrahan, who admits not all families are devoted gardeners with the time and interest to maintain such a place. “We were just going to continue to leave it vacant and try to sell it, until we found out how much it would cost to insure the place.”

* Full story available on The Spokesman

Here’s are highlights of new laws taking effect July 1 in Nevada:

— AB10 protects nurses against retaliation for disclosing problems that endanger patients at hospitals or other medical facilities; and SB229 seeks to ensure that foreign-trained doctors who get visas to work in “medically underserved” areas actually provide care in those areas.

— SB307 calls for a study of Nevada’s Medicaid system. The program provided insurance to an average of more than 180,000 people, including the elderly, disabled, children and pregnant women, in fiscal 2008.

— SB267 is aimed at ensuring open meeting laws are followed by government agencies when they revise their regulations. It requires public access to workshops and hearings of public agencies, along with meetings that already are open to the public. Documents relating to regulations have to be available at meetings.

* Full story available on The Mercury News

Real estate may be showing signs of a turnaround in many local markets but the nation’s largest mortgage players continue to ratchet up their underwriting rules, making home purchases more difficult for some buyers.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae, for example, issued a laundry list of tougher policies June 8 that could directly affect thousands of buyers in the coming months, especially those involved in job-related transfers.

Reversing a long-standing policy, Fannie no longer will permit mortgage applicants to count the income of so-called “trailing spouses” toward the household income needed to qualify for a loan. A trailing spouse is one who joins his or her spouse or partner in a job-related move, but who has yet to obtain employment in the new location.

* Full story available on The News OK

Rensselaer County Realtors are blaming a 38 percent drop in residential sales from Jan. 31 to May 31 on high property taxes. Legislators, meanwhile, are blaming one another for the property taxes themselves.

James Ader, of the Greater Capital Association of Realtors, said Friday that members are telling him the reason it is hard to sell homes in Rensselaer County as opposed to other Capital Region counties is because of high property taxes.

“There may well be other factors,” Ader said, but nothing that can be quantified.

The Democratic Minority Office released a statement Wednesday citing statistics released by the Realtors association that show 117 closed residential sales in May 2008 but only 53 such sales in May 2009, a 55 percent drop. Ader said he was surprised that figure was used, because it is such a small sampling compared to the yearly drop in sales of 38 percent.

* Full story available on The Bennington Banner

Los Angeles-based KB Home, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, today reported a net loss of $78.4 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, for its second quarter ended May 31.

In the year-ago period, KB Home’s net loss was $255.9 million, or $3.30 per diluted share.

Revenues totaled $384.5 million in the 2009 second quarter, down 40 percent from $639.1 million in the year-earlier quarter. The company attributed the decline to lower housing revenues of $380.8 million, compared to $636.7 million in the year-earlier quarter, reflecting a 37 percent decrease in homes delivered and a 5 percent decline in the average selling price.

* Full story available on The Daily Breeze

Clusterstock managing editor John Carney turned up a real gem today, publishing a document from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency called “Effective Strategies for Community Development Finance.” The OCC, a part of the Treasury Department, oversees national banks; its website says that the banks it supervises hold two-thirds of all commercial banking assets.

The document is sure to add fuel to the debate about the propriety of the government pushing banks to take on risky low-income borrowers. Documenting “how public resources can mitigate the risk to the lender, benefit the home buyer, and achieve local development goals,” the paper provides the example of leveraging a $500 down payment into a $70,000 purchase. How do you accomplish that feat of financial wizardry? By having government agencies engage in the shadiest of subprime lending practices.

* Full story available on The Daily Finance

A state worker has urged the Nevada Supreme Court to allow early mediation for those in danger of losing their homes.

Sindy Scarce told the court that she may lose her home in Carson City within three months because of the required furloughs ordered by the Nevada Legislature. And she wants to head off the notice of default by re-arranging the loan.

The court is writing the rules that allow a homeowner to ask for mediation that requires the lender to participate once the foreclosure notice had been issued. The rules are expected to be completed by next week. And the court says the mediations can start by Aug. 1.

* Full story available on The Las Vegas Sun

According to the recently-released REAL Trends Top 500 survey, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) led in total 2008 sales among the 500 highest-producing residential companies in the U.S. who reported to REAL Trends.

With over 555,000 closed transaction sides for this elite segment of the industry, LeadingRE closed 130,000 more transactions than its closest national franchise competitor.  LeadingRE’s production represented 29% of the total sides closed by the top 500 firms in the country. While LeadingRE sales were down 15% versus the 2007 Top 500 report due to the sluggish housing market, this was a smaller decline than most other real estate networks.

* Full story available on The dBusinessNews

Would you believe there is a shortage of foreclosed homes in some areas of the Metro? That is exactly what real estate agents are saying about some pockets of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“Certain communities that have always been strong are strong now and if they have foreclosures they’re selling quickly,” said Edina Realty General Sales Manager Barb Jandric.

Others say there are more buyers now than there are foreclosed homes.

* Full story available on The KSTP TV

Jason Zimmerman never thought he’d be a homeowner at age 23.

But the price was right. Interest rates were low.

Still, the deciding factor for him to buy a house in Cold Spring was an $8,000 tax credit to first-time homebuyers — a program Congress passed in February as part of the federal stimulus package.

* Full story available on The SC Times