Mortgage applications in the U.S. rose for a second week, led by an increase in purchases that may indicate the renewal of a homebuyer tax credit is starting to invigorate demand. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index increased 0.5 percent in the week ended March 5. The Washington-based group’s purchase gauge climbed 5.7 percent, while its refinancing measure fell 1.5 percent. The increase in requests for purchase financing may be a precursor of sales gains in coming months. “The strength of the spring selling season will be a good indication of the underlying trend in the recovery,” said Michelle Meyer, a senior economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. “We continue to expect sales to climb during the spring, peaking in June when the homebuyer tax credit expires for closed contracts.” [Read this article]

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The median price for a single-family home in metro Denver rose nearly 15 percent in February compared with the same month a year ago, but the number of homes sold declined. The median price for a single-family home rose to $220,750 last month, compared with $192,000 a year ago, according to Metrolist data released Tuesday. The median price for a condo increased 12.5 percent to $132,500, compared with $117,725 last year. There were 2,436 homes sold in February, down 1.9 percent from 2,484 last year. "First-time homebuyers are out in force," independent real-estate analyst Gary Bauer said. "We've also seen investors come out this month." [Read this article]

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Sales and selling prices of existing homes in metro Denver continued to improve in February, showing that the housing market continues to slowly recover, according to local real estate brokers. Highlights of last month’s home sales included an increase in sales of $1 million-plus homes, a 20 percent jump in the average selling price for condos and a 15 percent rise in median sold price for houses. Housing-information provider Metrolist Inc. of Greenwood Village released home-resale data Tuesday. “All in all, we’re showing signs of a strengthening housing market,” said Gretchen Faber, broker/manager at The Kentwood Co. at Cherry Creek and Metrolist analyst. “Denver is coming out of the recession a little faster than everyone else,” said Gary Bauer, an independent residential real estate broker in Littleton and Metrolist analyst. [Read this article]

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Raleigh is the kind of tech-forward city that, innovative as it is, often gets overlooked in favor of San Francisco, San Jose or Seattle. But this year the North Carolina capital passed its flashier rivals to grab the No. 1 spot on Forbes' Most Wired Cities list. Raleigh's win means it ranks higher overall than any other U.S. city in three measures: broadband penetration, broadband access and plentiful wi-fi hot spots. Taken together, the factors point to a populace that readily uses high-speed Internet inside and outside the home. Though a surprise winner, Raleigh boasts plenty of technology assets, including a high concentration of info-tech companies, research universities and state government offices. Regular folks can exploit Raleigh's IT resources too. The city's downtown is covered by a wi-fi network that is free to users. Past winning cities haven't lost their wired factor. Last year's No. 1, Seattle, ranks No. 3 this year, while Atlanta, the most wired city from 2008, is No. 2. [Read this article]

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2010 opened with optimism as February’s housing price growth displayed a marked improvement over 2009, particularly for affordable first homes where the extended tax credit should lift sales again in advance of the April expiration. Meanwhile, the market impact of an influx of real estate owned property was less than expected. Residential property prices in the US increased 5% in February from a year ago despite an incoming wave of real estate owned property that lenders are dumping on the market. The increase in prices comes on top of a 2.3% yearly increase in January but prices are unchanged on a quarterly basis, according to the figures from the Clear Capital Home Data Index. California had five of the 15 highest performing markets as Los Angeles prices gained 2.2% over the rolling quarter. [Read this article]

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Bob and Linda Gillett enjoy taking cruises to Europe and going out for nice dinners in their San Diego neighborhood. But unlike some of their fellow retirees, they don't have to strain financially to indulge themselves. That's because, right before they retired, they eliminated their biggest monthly expense: their mortgage. For several years the couple added $300 to each home payment so they could retire the loan 10 years early. Now they estimate they've got an extra $600 in the budget each month. "We don't ever think about whether we can afford things," Linda says. The finances of the family home - often where the bulk of wealth is tied up - are playing an ever larger role in life planning. For people approaching retirement, the most compelling reason to pay off a mortgage early is to free up money for other expenses. [Read this article]

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Given that, among the 50 largest metro areas in the country, Washington D.C. has the second lowest unemployment rate and the second highest rate of employment growth, it arguably has the strongest economy in the country. This is not to say that the nation’s capital has come through the recession unscathed. It has emerged from the downturn more quickly, however, and in much better overall economic health, largely due to sustained growth of government hiring. Indeed, over the past year government employment has risen by 16,700, well ahead of the only other sectors to add jobs over the past year: professional and business services (+4,900) and education and health services (+4,600). This relative economic health of Washington is also reflected in its housing market, where house prices, based on the Case-Shiller index, are up by 1.9% year over year and median existing house prices are up by 3.8% year over year in the fourth quarter. [Read this article]

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The percentage of U.S. homeowners who cut the listing price on their houses fell in February to the lowest level in 10 months, as initial pricing became more realistic heading into the spring selling season, real estate web site Trulia.com said on Tuesday. Prices on 19 percent of homes on the market as of March 1 had been cut at least once, the lowest percentage since Trulia started tracking reductions in April 2009. At the peak in October and November, 26 percent of sellers had cut their asking price. More homes will come on the market as the weather warms. "Buyers and sellers are finally coming together and sellers are pricing the homes properly from the start," said Ken Shuman, head of communications at Trulia. "Better pricing is leading to less time on the market, less price reduction and in a lot of markets we're starting to see bidding wars on lower end properties," he added. [Read this article]

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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) wants potential home buyers to be aware that they still have the opportunity to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time home buyer or $6,500 repeat buyer tax credits, as long as they act quickly. The credits expire on April 30, 2010. The most important thing for you to do is make sure you are ready to go, by making an appointment with a lender to be able to have a "pre-approval" from that lender, and then contact an agent or Realtor so you can locate a house you want to buy. Remember, the contract must be completely executed by April 30, and escrow should have been opened. The IRS provides an additional two months beyond the deadline to close the deal. Buyers who sign a sales contract by the April 30 deadline are still eligible if they close the sale of the home by June 30, 2010. [Read this article]

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The era of new American frugality ushered in by the recession has an added benefit. Many measures that families take to cut costs in tough times - turning down the heat or shopping secondhand, for example - are also good for the planet. "Our carbon footprint is directly tied to our consumption, whether that's consumption of energy or a consumer product," says Josh Dorfman, host of the Sundance Channel show The Lazy Environmentalist and author of the book and blog of the same name. Whether people realize it or not, cutting back has made them accidental environmentalists. "For people to green their lifestyle, the solutions have to fit how they live. I think there are a lot of ways to make that possible." Here are 10 - all of which will minimize not only your footprint but also your spending. [Read this article]

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