RealEstateEconomyWatch.com

How to Predict Local Home Prices

You're about to put an offer on a home, but you're worried that prices will sink and you won't get the best deal.  You're putting your home on the market and you want to get the most you can for it but you can't wait forever to sell it.  You've found a great deal on a foreclosure that looks like a great investment, but how what will it be worth a year from now?

Five Ways to Fight a Low Appraisal

What do you do when the appraisal on the dream home you want to buy comes in below the price in the offer the buyer has accepted... even as much as 10 to 20 percent below?

IDAs Increase Down Payment Cash, Reduce Foreclosure Risk

Low-income homebuyers who participate in matched savings plans (IDAs) and financial education are three times less likely to lose their homes to foreclosure than other low-income buyers in the same locale.

How Your Tax Credit Can Pay Your Down Payment and Closing Costs

To help buyers who want down payment and closing cost assistance, including those who qualify for the Federal homebuyer tax credit, 19 state housing finance agencies (HFAs) offer special short-term second loans.

How the New Homebuyer Tax Credit Works

 The extension and expansion of the homebuyers tax credit that passed Congress November 5 allows more first-time buyers to qualify and creates an entirely new credit for existing homeowners who buy a new home.

Find the Right Mortgage

Finding the mortgage that is right for you is a very important decision

Is a Reverse Mortgage Right for You?

  Reverse mortgages, the kind of loans marketed by aging celebrities to seniors interested in converting the equity in their homes into cash, aren’t the safe haven they are portrayed by marketers,

How to Protect Yourself Against Mortgage Fraud

During this time of financial crisis, an epidemic of mortgage rescue schemes is sweeping the country.  They prey upon families who are facing foreclosure in exploding numbers. Fraudulent mortgage rescue scams raise false hopes and cruelly exploit people who can ill afford it.

How to Obtain the Right Mortgage

Going into debt for fifteen or thirty years can be a scary process-which is exactly why you should make every effort to learn about mortgages, put your finance in shape so that you qualify for the best possible terms, determine what you can afford and then shop hard for the right mortgage for you.

How to Find Your Next Home Online

If you're like nine out of ten home buyers today, you are using the Internet to look for a home.  Why not?  The Internet has transformed the way people buy and sell houses.  Real estate search sites make it easy for buyers to check out hundreds of properties in a matter of minutes and for sellers to reach thousands of buyers that they could never reach before.

How to Understand Your Housing Market

 “All real estate is local” is an industry dictum that’s not only obvious, it’s very true.  When you hear on the news that home sales or prices are up or down, chances are that those are national reports that may have little or nothing to do with conditions where you live.

The Real Estate Rorschach Test

  Take the Real Estate Rorschach Test and find out if you're ready for the recovery!

Raising Your Real Estate IQ

Cloudy Housing Data

As the nation’s housing sector continues to sink, we are becoming increasingly preoccupied with monitoring and interpreting housing data. We are looking for any positive sign that the housing markets are turning the corner and recovery is within sight.

Harbingers for a Better Housing Market

Here are some signs that are likely to signal a market turnaround for the housing market. We define a turn­around as a steady increase in home sales from a trough.