From the monthly archives:

September 2012

Sales Of New U.S. Homes Hover Near A Two-Year High

September 28, 2012
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Tweet Purchases of new U.S. homes hovered in August near a two-year high, adding to signs that the housing market is on the way to recovery. Sales fell 0.3 percent to a 373,000 annual pace following a revised 374,000 rate in July that was higher than previously estimated and the strongest since April 2010, figures [...]

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When It Comes To Home Prices, Not All Street Names Are Created Equal

September 28, 2012
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Tweet Theoretically, if you were to buy a house on an Abbey Road, it would cost you $23 more per square foot than if you bought one on an Abbey Street. A new study by Trulia finds that houses on certain street-types – like “boulevard” or “place” – can cost as much as $30 more per [...]

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Housing To “Return To Normal” In 2014, UCLA’s Anderson School Says

September 28, 2012
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Tweet Forecasting a 112% increase for housing starts between 2011 and 2014 sounds pretty aggressive. But it’s not really, say David Shulman and Jerry Nickelburg, senior economists with UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, which recently released its latest projections for the economies in the U.S. and California over the next few years. Shulman estimates that [...]

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Rising Home Prices Brighten Economic Outlook

September 28, 2012
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Tweet They’re back! Home prices, that is. Two reports confirm an uptrend in home prices. The news has to bring joy in the hallways of the Federal Reserve. That’s because rising home prices bring a hat trick of benefits to the economic outlook. First and most obviously, rising prices indicate the housing market is in [...]

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Lower Your Taxes When You Move For Work

September 28, 2012
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Tweet If you move for work-related reasons, you may be allowed to deduct some expenses on page 1 of Form 1040. Page 1 treatment is good, because you don’t have to itemize to reap a tax-saving benefit. Here’s what you need to know. The Internal Revenue Code sets up two tests for moving expenses. You [...]

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Survey: Most Texans Drawn To Practical Side Of Homeownership

September 28, 2012
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Tweet Homeownership, long considered part of the American Dream, continues to have mass appeal but with a slightly more practical angle, according to a survey released by the Texas Trust Credit Union. The survey “spotlights a more pragmatic and less idealized vision of home ownership,” according to a press release from Texas Trust. A large [...]

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San Francisco Is America’s Best City In 2012

September 28, 2012
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Tweet As long as chilly weather, walking uphill, and really expensive real estate don’t turn you off, San Francisco has no shortage of positive qualities. Though numbering fewer than a million people, this coastal city packs in so much – from world-class restaurants and museums to community fairs and music festivals, a large educated class, [...]

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Consumers’ Real Problem With Credit Scores

September 28, 2012
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Tweet Consumers who check their credit scores don’t always see the same number that lenders see when they apply for a loan, a new report shows. One out of five consumers who purchase their credit score will likely receive a “meaningfully different score” than a lender, according to a study released by the Consumer Financial [...]

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It’s Official: Downtowns Are Booming

September 28, 2012
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Tweet Big city downtowns are becoming people places – again or, for some, for the first time. New figures out from the U.S. Census Bureau show that downtown areas saw huge jumps in population between 2000 and 2010. The biggest of these metro areas, those with populations of 5 million or more, saw a collective [...]

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Consumer Confidence In U.S. Rises To A Seven-Month High

September 25, 2012
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Tweet Confidence among American consumers rose more than forecast in September to a seven-month high, which may help support the largest part of the economy. The Conference Board’s index increased to 70.3 this month from 61.3 in August, figures showed. The September figure exceeded the most optimistic projection of economists, whose median estimate in a [...]

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