“Buy Now or Later?”
Savvy homebuyers who want to save the most money are jumping into the market now. That’s because home prices are at or near bottom, and mortgage rates have dropped FURTHER due to continued economic turmoil. Mortgage analysts can’t agree on how long these rates will stick around.

With a mortgage loan, your interest [...]

Bringing the Dream of Homeownership Within Reach

As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that:

Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.
Expands the credit to grant up to [...]

Most every home can be made more energy efficient—it’s all about knowing where to begin and determining what fits within your budget. Energy Trust offers three easy ways to evaluate and improve your home’s energy performance, and provides cash incentives to help complete your improvement projects.

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®

This comprehensive 3–4 hour home [...]

 Breaking News: Homebuyer Tax Credit Set to be Extended and Expanded!

Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit. This morning, the House of Representatives approved the agreement reached in the Senate by a vote of 403-12. The bill has now passed both chambers and is awaiting [...]

Washington, October 23, 2009

Existing-home sales bounced back strongly in September with first-time buyers driving much of the activity, marking five gains in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.57 million units [...]

Reporting from Washington -

Will Congress extend the wildly popular $8,000 home buyer tax credit beyond its Dec. 1 expiration date?

That’s a question generating huge pressure on Capitol Hill from would-be buyers who haven’t found the right house as well as from realty agents, builders, lenders and squads of lobbyists working on their behalf.

But here’s the [...]

 Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson [...]

Now is the time to buy, but that opportunity may be slipping away. For people who have a job and money, a dream house is within reach, writes Marc Roth, founder of Home Warranty of America and a columnist for BusinessWeek. He points out that mortgage rates remain low, prices are still at historic lows, [...]

Downpayment, Closing Costs Biggest Obstacles
Most Americans still consider having enough money for downpayment and closing costs to be the biggest obstacles to buying a home, according to the 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual survey released Thursday by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found [...]

Pam Kabati, VP and Editorial Director at NAR, Twittered that Realtor Magazine Online has a update on the HUD Bridge Loan Credit.  Here is what Realtor Magazine Online, has to say:

Buyer Tax Credit Loan Guidance Coming Soon
Detailed guidance on the federal government’s plan to provide short-term loans to borrowers using the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit [...]