Homes had long been considered as a place to live and one that would keep pace with inflation.  In fact, from 1987 through 2009, home values (per the Case-Shiller Index) appreciated at 3.9 percent compound annually while inflation ran 2.9 percent (see post from March… Read more

Number of New Home Sales 12-Month Moving Average Declines 16.5 Percent From July 2010 to July 2011 — Current 299,000 Annual Average Versus 1 Million Normal New home sales continue in the doldrums as July 2011 tallied 298,000 on a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) compared… Read more

June existing home sales dropped almost 1 percent sequentially from May 2011, and were off 8.8 percent from June 2010 (not a surprise since June 2010 was the last month featuring the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit.  Also expect an increase year-over-year in July due to… Read more

While the housing market plunge has evaporated the wealth and investment on million of American households, at the same time depressed prices have made the some of the buying opportunities in perhaps decades.  The 10 cities below are among the most affordable in the country…. Read more

In an article, (USA Today), Zillow  believes that at least six housing markets in the U.S. have bottomed out  (Las Vegas, Ft Myers, Stockton, Vallejo, Hartford and Columbus). Do not confuse this with recovery, however, as prices in these markets remain flat.     Many… Read more

Housing markets: Best recovery bets Location and Forecast (By CNNMoney) Home Price Increase Tacoma, Washington                       11.8 percent Palm Bay, Florida                              9.4 percent Memphis, Tennessee                      7.5 percent Rochester, New York                        5.3 percent Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania                 4.6 percent Seattle, Washington                          3.7 percent Tucson, Arizona                                  3.4 percent Colorado Springs,… Read more

One of the issues we all must acknowledge is that there is no such thing as a national real estate market.  Nor is there even a local market—inventory, demand and prices vary by price range, neighborhood and product type. And by the way, when I… Read more

America's most overvalued – and undervalued cities- CNN   Local Market Monitor released their annual analysis of housing markets across the country and tagged eight localities as overpriced (versus 37 in mid-2006) and 15 underpriced  (six in 2006).   This goes to again prove the… Read more

Economists: Expect No Home-Price Growth in 2011-WSJ blog As the housing hangover perpetuates, we still need to ask that age-old question, “Are we there yet?”     Economists now believe that while we might be there now (at the bottom), we aren’t going anyplace soon,… Read more

I would speculate that if you asked the typical American what the best long term investment is, many (if not at least half) would probably say “Gold.”  But the real long-term returns of gold might surprise you. If you bought gold in January 1980, as… Read more