CNN money Reports- 1 million homes reposessed in 2010

1 million homes repossessed in 2010

By Les Christie, staff writer--January 13, 2011: 10:05 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Foreclosures were at a record high in 2010, and more than 1 million people lost their homes, even as notices started leveling off during the end year.
In total, there were nearly 2.9 million foreclosure notices filed during the year, according to report released Thursday by RealtyTrac. That was a record high, but just 1.7% above 2009.

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Mortgage rates dip after weeks of rising

NEW YORK — Rates on fixed mortgages dipped this week after rising steadily over the last two months.
Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year mortgage dropped to 4.77 percent from 4.86 percent the previous week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November.
The average rate on the 15-year loan slipped to 4.13 percent from 4.20 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records starting in 1991. Rates have been rising since November. Investors have shifted money out of Treasurys and into stocks. Many expect the tax-cut plan will fuel economic growth and increase inflation. Yields tend to rise on inflation fears.

Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Those rates have been fluctuating in recent weeks.
Low mortgage rates did little to boost home sales last year and higher rates now could hamper a robust recovery.

CNN Money- Panel of Experts Debate Over Housing Prices in 2011, Will They Drop?

CNN Money Reports- What Will Happen With Real Estate Market?

Bull vs. Bear: Will housing rebound?

Posted by Nin-Hai Tseng, writer-reporter

December 27, 2010 3:00 am

It's a question many Americans want answered: Will the value of my home rise or fall next year? Smart minds fall in both camps -- here are both sides of the coin on real estate.
One of the most closely watched sectors in 2011 will continue to be real estate – a wildly emotional and divisive topic that's puzzled investors and economists since the housing bubble burst around 2007. Earlier this year, many observers thought the market would turn around in a big way as federal tax credits spurred home purchases and the economy added jobs following hundreds of billions of dollars of government stimulus spending.
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Washington post Reports: Contractors Making Deals to Stay in Business

Homeowners looking to remodel will find contractors willing to negotiate

By Sandra Fleishman

Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, September 25, 2010 

 With homeowners holding on tighter to their hard-earned dollars -- or trying the do-it-yourself route -- remodelers are fighting to hold on to business by offering to do more for less, said remodelers and experts at this month's annual Remodeling Show in Baltimore.

Some remodelers are cutting their margins sharply; others are willing to do competitive bidding again; and some are offering faster completion dates or more services than before, said industry experts such as Sal Alfano, editorial director of Remodeling magazine, a co-sponsor of the show. "This market is good for homeowners, but not for remodelers," Alfano said.
For a while this summer, it seemed the worst was over. Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies in July issued its Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), projecting that national homeowner spending for improvements would be up 5 percent in 2010 over 2009 and that the market would continue to improve in the first quarter of 2011.

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Pending home sales rise 5.2% in July Msnbc Reports

Pending home sales rise 5.2% in July

But signed contracts are still well below last year's levels

WASHINGTON — The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied U.S. homes increased in July but remained well below last year's levels, a sign that demand for housing remains weak.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday its seasonally adjusted index rose 5.2 percent from a month earlier to a reading of 79.4. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the index would fall to 74.9.
The index was still down 19 percent from the same month last year. June's reading was the lowest on records dating to 2001. It was revised slightly downward to 75.5.
The index provides an early measurement of sales activity because there is usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.

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