From the monthly archives:

December 2012

What It Takes To Have A Perfect (Or Near-Perfect) Credit Score

December 31, 2012
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Tweet Aiming for a perfect credit score might seem like you’re trying to attain the unattainable, but hitting the coveted 850 FICO score isn’t impossible. A dedicated few find a way to obtain it by taking such steps as acquiring and maintaining good financial behaviors, monitoring their credit, and using only a small percentage of [...]

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2013: A Case For Optimism

December 31, 2012
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Tweet It’s easy to be pessimistic about the future of jobs in the United States. Yet, odds are, we’re in for better times. For example, many jobs that are being replaced by technology are unpleasant ones, for example, back-breaking farming, repetitive toll-taking, stressful customer service gigs. Those jobs are increasingly being replaced by jobs that [...]

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10 Moves To Avoid Problem Debt In 2013

December 31, 2012
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Tweet To avoid your own “fiscal cliff” in 2013, Bankrate.com suggests you stop arguing with yourself and take 10 positive steps for a better, more prosperous new year. Tip 1: Develop a spending plan. If you don’t have a plan for your money, you will end up following someone else’s plan. That’s no fun! A [...]

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Pending Home Sales Highest In 2½ Years

December 28, 2012
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Tweet The National Association of Realtors says its pending home sales index, which measures contracts to buy homes, increased last month to its highest level in two and a half years. It’s the latest sign of improvement in the battered housing market. The NAR said its seasonally adjusted index rose 1.7% in November from October [...]

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New-Home Sales Strongest In More Than 2 Years

December 27, 2012
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Tweet New-home sales rose in November, recording their strongest pace in more than 2 years, another sign of improvement in the housing market. The Census Bureau reported Thursday that sales of new homes rose to an annual rate of 377,000 in the month, up 4.4% from October, and up 15% from year-earlier levels. It was [...]

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Home Prices Hit A Milestone: Growing Demand, Shrinking Supply Buoy Housing Market

December 27, 2012
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Tweet Home prices are on track to notch their first yearly gain since 2006, the strongest performance since the housing bust and a development that could accelerate the real-estate rebound even as the broader economy stutters. The housing market’s revival has had several false dawns in recent years, but a recovery that began in the [...]

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Economists Expect 2012 Housing Momentum To Carry Into 2013

December 27, 2012
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Tweet A nationwide panel of more than 100 professional forecasters expects home prices to rise 3.1 percent in 2013 after finishing 2012 up more than 4.6 percent, reflecting growing optimism in the housing market, according to the December 2012 Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey. In the survey of 105 economists, real estate experts and investment [...]

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Five Things Consumers Should Expect From The Housing Market In 2013

December 27, 2012
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Tweet In 2012, the national housing market finally turned a corner. We’ve now experienced 13 straight months of home value appreciation. Sales were up significantly over 2011 as buyers returned to the market, boosting demand. So what will 2013 have in store? Here are five things consumers can expect to see in the housing market [...]

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Lennar Targets Families With Multiple Generations Under One Roof

December 27, 2012
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Tweet Viewed from the street, the single-family home at the entrance to Lennar’s Traditions at Bella Casa community looks just like any of the homebuilder’s other models. Until you spot the second door. From the home’s porch, visitors have the choice of entering into the main home or a side door that leads to a [...]

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The Great Housing Rebound Of 2012: How The Fed Helped Sellers Beat The Odds

December 27, 2012
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Tweet Without a doubt, the U.S. housing market has been the most successful sector of the economy this year, and Wednesday’s Case-Shiller home price index report – which showed a fifth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in home prices nationwide – was a late Christmas present for homeowners across the country. The housing market “bottom” [...]

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