Real Estate News and Advice


Real Estate Outlook: Numbers Best in Months
Either way you present it total resales were essentially flat from month to month, hardly as dramatically negative as the scare headlines had it. Maybe we're at bottom, maybe not, but the fact is: Sales are not falling off the charts.

Second Homes: Luxury Housing Booms On
Christie's Great Estates says the high-end home market continues to boom during the housing downturn because, like priceless art, luxury homes are put on a pedestal.

Realty Viewpoint: Congress To Humiliate Greedy Mortgage, Banking CEOs
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is interviewing several overpaid CEOs tomorrow to find out what the relationship is between outlandish executive pay and the subprime mortgage meltdown.

Appealing Your Property Tax Bill
When home values fall, so can property tax bills, but it may be up to you to initiate the tedious process that proves your property tax is, well, too taxing.

Inflating Home Prices with Cash Back at Closing
In many housing markets across the country, property values are declining. In terms of the overall market, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It means the laws of supply and demand are at work. It makes housing more affordable, especially for first-time buyers. It may even result in a drop in property taxes, giving homeowners a much-needed tax break.

Real Estate Marketing Strategies: Using the Law of Attraction to Create Your Ideal Income
Did you know that your thoughts and intentions play a big part in your success in 2008? Not only that, but what you choose to focus on determines what you'll attract. This article describes the Law of Attraction and why it's so important to master this Law. By learning how to implement the Law of Attraction, you'll be able to create your Ideal Income in 2008.

Interest Rate Update
Today's Interest Rates from Realty Times are based on a 30 year amortization rate, with good credit and no origination fees. The economy is slowing, there's no doubt about that. But there is no doubt that the Fed will have to act soon. Mortgage rates are anticipating that move and still moving lower.

New Sales Strategies Drive Bargains
Foreclosure bus tours, open house sales, creative equity-sharing financing comprise a growing trend of marketing and sales strategies to get the housing market moving.

Condo Trends: Condo Living A Little Different Than Co-op
When you mention the word "condo" most buyers have a vision in their mind's eye of what that looks and feels like. It's a dwelling in an apartment-type building where the purchaser owns the walls in the unit, as well as the personal property within it and pays taxes on that bit of ownership.

Interest Rate Update
Today's Interest Rates from Realty Times are based on a 30 year amortization rate, with good credit and no origination fees. Conflicting economic reports have mortgage rates in a quandary with no move up or down.

Realty Viewpoint: Inflation, Consumer Sentiment Recall Stagflation of 1970s
Several recent newsbites have the real estate industry gritting its teeth, because it keeps looking worse and worse for housing.

Market Conditions: Provo, Utah
Diana Russell, our market expert for the East Bench and University area of Provo, Utah, reports the local market seems to be slowing down. Russell says the average time a home spends on the market has increased to 95 days, with prices dropping roughly 5 percent.

Mortgage Moment: Special Commitment Money
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Will I Get My Money Back from a Kitchen Remodel?
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Research Shows Shift in Home Improvement Trends
As the housing economy slows and energy costs accelerate, Americans are looking for home improvement projects that work to add value to their home and add to their monthly savings.

Greening the HOA
While there is continuing debate about global warming, one related issue that all agree on is the need for better stewardship of the Earth. We all owe a debt of caring for our world. What better place to start than at home? While governments often move at a glacial pace to enact green policies, self help is readily available today.

The Value of Successful Home Staging
Have you ever walked into a beautifully decorated model home and been captivated by it? Did you find yourself dreaming of bathing in that spa-like bathroom, cooking meals in the gourmet kitchen or curling up with a book in that luxurious reading nook? If so, then you have been the successful target of the secret weapon called staging.