From the monthly archives:

May 2012

Low, Stable Housing Prices: What’s Not To Like?

May 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for Low, Stable Housing Prices: What’s Not To Like?

Tweet The Case-Shiller Housing Price figures for March were released Tuesday, and they reveal a second month of modest price increases. Although a new surge in housing prices might improve the macroeconomy, there is plenty to like in low and stable housing prices, and that’s what we should now expect in a world free from [...]

Read the full article →

Housing Market Crawls Back

May 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for Housing Market Crawls Back

Tweet Housing prices across the U.S. fell in March, but not as much as in earlier months, according to a report Tuesday that offered fresh evidence of a real-estate market on the mend. Compared with February, prices fell just 0.03% in March, and after adjusting for seasonal factors, they rose 0.09%, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller [...]

Read the full article →

Behind The Numbers: Does Case-Shiller Show A Market Bottoming Out?

May 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for Behind The Numbers: Does Case-Shiller Show A Market Bottoming Out?

Tweet Tuesday’s S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes show a market in which U.S. home prices are still falling, but not as dramatically as in previous months. This is good news for homeowners and home sellers since it indicates that the market is bottoming out. It’s also a sign that the housing downturn, now in its fifth year, [...]

Read the full article →

10 Home Staging Tips From A TV Designer

May 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for 10 Home Staging Tips From A TV Designer

Tweet Worried about trying to sell your home in this buyer’s market? Adopting some simple staging tips from the pros can help your home sell faster. The effort may be well worth your time, according to the Real Estate Staging Association. The group studied 174 homes that had been on the market for an average [...]

Read the full article →

Spring Revival For America’s Housing Market

May 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for Spring Revival For America’s Housing Market

Tweet Six years after the housing market began its slide, dragging the U.S. economy into recession, this year’s spring season – traditionally the busiest period for home sales – is shaping up to be the strongest since the crash. Sales rose more than 10 percent in April from a year earlier and may end the [...]

Read the full article →

5 Uncommon Ways To Raise Your Credit Score

May 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for 5 Uncommon Ways To Raise Your Credit Score

Tweet When it comes to cultivating a credit score, you’ve probably got the good citizen routine down cold. You pay on time, try to wipe out the entire balance every month and never close too many accounts at once. Beyond the basics, though, many consumers are still in the dark about what makes their credit [...]

Read the full article →

10 Cheap Ways To Increase Home Value

May 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for 10 Cheap Ways To Increase Home Value

Tweet Selling your home this summer? Cheap tweaks can pay off big-time. “And even when these don’t equate to big dollars, they may help sell your property faster,” says Adam Hade, an associate broker with Houlihan Lawrence in southeastern New York state. But choosing which improvements to make is where many homeowners go wrong, according [...]

Read the full article →

8 Ways Housing Is Back On Track

May 25, 2012
Thumbnail image for 8 Ways Housing Is Back On Track

Tweet Good news keeps rolling in on the housing front. Homebuilding seems to be emerging from its four-year downward spiral as the number of homes under construction creeps slowly up. Fresh Census data show that permits for new single-family homes in April reached an annual rate of 715,000. More permits were issued in March (769,000), [...]

Read the full article →

The Return Of The Seller’s Market

May 25, 2012
Thumbnail image for The Return Of The Seller’s Market

Tweet Is the worst over for homeowners? Data released Tuesday shows that existing-home sales increased 3.4% in April from a month earlier and 10% from a year ago, with market conditions improving in many parts of the country. But more tellingly, say experts, the inventory of unsold homes dropped 21% from a year ago. According [...]

Read the full article →

What’s A Good First Credit Card To Build My Credit Score?

May 25, 2012
Thumbnail image for What’s A Good First Credit Card To Build My Credit Score?

Tweet Getting your first credit card is a critical first step into adulthood. With a line of credit comes a new level of maturity, and the decision about what card to start out with should not be made lightly. But before you venture out for your own piece of plastic, consider taking a baby step: [...]

Read the full article →