Over the course of the fall, Fifth Third Bank once again hit the road and went on tour. But it’s not the type of tour one would normally associate with traveling in 40-foot decorated bus traveling large segments of the country.

There were no sold-out venues, no screaming fans or encore performances. Instead, there were parking lots, community centers and colleges where banking officials and associates provided assistance to people searching for answers on finances regarding homebuying.

Full story is available on Jacksonville Daily Record

Ron Saba is selling his garden home on Bird Key, and he’s bucking a trend to do it.

Prevailing wisdom holds that when preparing a house for the market, sellers should de-clutter, de-personalize and emotionally detach themselves from their abodes. The idea is to so neutralize the house that potential buyers easily can envision themselves there, and can see their own furnishings in the spaces.

Saba doesn’t buy it. His rooms are spilling over with a lifetime of global artifacts — a mix of modern, traditional and antique furniture, paintings, crystal chandeliers, and built-in custom cabinetry that houses costly figurines with prestigious names, such as Lladro, Armani, Waterford, Herend and Swarovski.

Full story is available on Herald Tribune

Here’s another sad statistic in the housing crisis. Take a look around your neighborhood. Out of every 10 houses, odds are one of them is behind on mortgage payments. The Mortgage Bankers Association says that’s the worst showing since it started keeping records in 1972.

As homeowners find themselves in trouble and unable to sell for anything resembling an asking price, they’re turning to short sales. That’s where you work with the bank to sell for less than you owe on the mortgage.

Full story is available on Market Place

October sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts jumped 17.2 percent to 4,295 from 3,664 in October 2008 – the highest number of sales for the month of October since 2005 and the biggest increase in year-over-year sales so far in 2009, said the Warren Group, which added that a federal tax credit for first-time home buyers helped stimulate sales.

October was the fourth consecutive month that single-family home sales climbed, and condo sales also increased, said the Warren Group, a Boston firm that tracks local real estate activity and publishes Banker & Tradesman.

Full story is available on boston.com

Brian Gindlesperger says he has never been late on a mortgage payment and considers paying off his loan “the right thing to do.” But as the value of his home continues to fall, he is starting to wonder whether paying his debt is the smartest thing to do.

Four years ago, Mr. Gindlesperger, a police officer, and his wife Kelly, a real-estate agent, paid $650,000 for a four-bedroom house in this wealthy Phoenix suburb. They believed they were getting a bargain price for the area and made a 20% down payment, using a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to pay the balance. To help pay for their eldest daughter’s college costs, home improvements and a wedding, they took out a second mortgage against their home. Now they owe about $647,000 on the two mortgages.

Full story is available on The WallStreet Journal

Propped up by government tax credits, existing-home sales exploded in October, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday.

Sales were 23.5 percent higher than in October 2008 and 10.1 percent greater than in September. This was the highest pace of selling activity since February 2007, just as the housing boom was winding down nationally.

Full story is available on Philadelphia Inquirer

Sales of new and existing homes and condos in October increased d by 7 percent in Ohio over October of 2008, according to the just-released figures.

Analysts generally credit the federal 8000-dollar first-time home buyer tax credit that was set to expire next week for the increase.  Now that credit has been extended, and expanded to include current homeowners who have been in their homes five years and want to buy a new principle residence – those people qualify for a 65 hundred dollar credit.

Full story is available on 90.3 WCPN ideastream

Home sales rose 10 percent in the Western region of the country in October, driven largely by first-time homebuyers racing to qualify for a tax credit that had been set to expire at the end of this month, according to two reports released Monday.

Sales in the 13-state region have improved this year, aided by the tax incentive, the data last month benefited from an easy comparison to October 2008 sales, which declined sharply as the U.S. financial crisis worsened.

Full story is available on The New York Times

Sales of existing U.S. homes jumped 10 percent in October to the highest level since February 2007 as Americans rushed to take advantage of a tax credit, cheaper properties and lower mortgage rates.

Purchases rose more than forecast to a 6.1 million annual rate from a 5.54 million pace in September, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median sales price decreased 7.1 percent from October 2008.

Full story is available on Bloomberg

Jane Guest likes things neat, tidy and organized. It served her well in a long career as a magazine executive, and now, at 59, it’s helped her reinvent herself as a solo entrepreneur.

Guest has become a “home stager,” working with real-estate agents and their clients to put a home in its best light for a quick sale at a good price.

Full story is available on canada.com