While national home prices have fallen again to a level that has not been seen since 2002, there is evidence that the situation may have hit rock bottom and is creeping back upwards for some areas of the country.
According to The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price index, home prices have fallen 19.1 percent in the first quarter compared to last year, 32.2 percent compared to their peak in 2006. The drop from last year to today represents the largest drop in the history of the index.
Home prices vary remarkably from city to city depending on the local economy, foreclosure …read more

The national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has increased from 5.21 percent to 5.24 percent over the last week, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly survey. Regardless of this small gain, mortgage rates are still at all-time lows, having plunged from 6.77 percent last October.
Analysts generally agree that mortgage rates will remain relatively low for the rest of 2009, thanks to investors’ concerns about the weak economy. Continued government purchases of government and mortgage-backed debt should also help to keep mortgage rates low for the rest of the year.
This makes now an ideal time for those who are currently paying off a …read more

Not long ago, it seemed like the stock market would never stop dropping. However, after a few weeks of strong gains, the mood on Wall Street is much improved. Many experts believe that the worst days are in the past and that the future should include a steady climb.
On Monday, all the indexes look healthy. The Dow Jones industrial average went up 2.6% to finish the day at 8,426.7. NASDAQ finished at 1,763.6 after also jumping 2.6%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 3.4% to 907.2.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is especially impressive because that index …read more

I’m finding that no one wants to talk about housing anymore. And people especially don’t want to talk about their own homes and their own property values.