Home Buying and Home Selling News Archive of February 2008

Be a smart consumer when buying property
Janesville Gazette - Janesville,WI,USA
While home buying is complicated, you can find easy ways to avoid illegal—and even legal—traps into which realtors, lenders and brokers coax you to pay more ...

US New Home Selling Price Falls in December
Multi-Housing News - New York,NY,USA
Washington, DC--The US median new home price dropped to $216000 last month--a 15 percent decline from January 2006, according to the Commerce Department. ...

Staged to sell
Reno Gazette Journal - Reno,NV,USA
But staging can help sell a house quickly, the stagers say. "The bottom line is (builders) wouldn't spend money on model homes if didn't help them sell," ...

Existing home sales hit 9-year low in January
AXcess News - Georgetown,KY,USA
But it doesn't change the fact that there fewer places to borrow money if your thinking about buying a home. "Subprime loans and other risky mortgage ...

US Home Resales Fell 0.4% to 9-Year Low in January (Update1)
Bloomberg - USA
In addition, the Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment showed a record number of Americans said lower home prices made home buying ...

New system aims to unite independent home sellers
Springfield Business Journal - Springfield,MO,USA
In an effort to preserve more of her equity, Jones was selling her home without a Realtor, but she was disappointed in the lack of visibility she had with ...

Buying a New Home: How Important Is the School District?
Wall Street Journal - USA
We recently wrote about home buyers’ willingness to spend more upfront if it means spending less down-the-road on utility costs. Some readers pointed out ...

Homes Aren't Selling, But Home Price Indexes Are
IndexUniverse.com - New York,NY,USA
In an interesting move, Standard & Poor's has acquired complete ownership of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes from MacroMarkets LLC. ...

$3 million home selling at absolute auction
9NEWS.com - Denver,CO,USA
She says an absolute auction is a quick way to sell a home, particularly high-end homes like Walsh's. However, there is a down side. ...

What the Weak Housing Market Means for Your Taxes
U.S. News & World Report - Washington,DC,USA
In better times, homes were widely seen as a Fort Knox of family wealth. Today, many are in a swamp of disappearing value. In either case, tax provisions relating to homes can dramatically affect the bottom line and are worth unhurriedly working through ...

Find ways to buy foreclosed homes beyond auctions
Baltimore Sun - United States
You might think that it's an especially good time to get a deal on a foreclosed home at an auction. It isn't. Despite the growing number of foreclosures across the country, there are few bargains to be found at auctions. For one thing, you'll be competing against savvy local investors who know how to gauge a property's real value ...