Investors who bought housing stocks at the beginning of the year after two and a half years of steep declines are being rewarded for their prescience.
As the Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates, the stocks of home builders Toll Brothers, Lennar, and Hovnanian rose 40 percent, 52 percent, and 96 percent respectively.
Some analysts believe these [...]

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Six major lenders have agreed to allow seriously overdue home owners to suspend foreclosures for 30 days, giving them time to work out affordable loans.
The plan called Project Lifeline is being announced today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Initially, the pilot program will involve Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Countrywide Financial Corp., [...]

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee on Feb. 14 that the central bank is likely to make fewer rate cuts in the immediate future.
Over the past six months, the Fed has cut rates by a total of 2.25 percentage points; but the aggressive moves have not done much to alleviate the [...]

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Roughly half of metropolitan areas continued to show rising home prices in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association of Realtors®.
In the fourth quarter, 73 out of 150 metropolitan statistical areas(1) show increases in median existing single-family home prices from a year earlier, including 11 areas with [...]

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Calif. median home price - December 07: $475,460
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region December 07: Santa Barbara So. Coast $925,000
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region December 07: High Desert $244,330
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Fourth Quarter 07: 33 percen
(Source: C.A.R.)  
Mortgage rates - week ending 02/14: 30-yr. fixed: 5.72%; [...]

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In every county across the sate, the income needed to buy a median-priced home in California has surpassed the median household income, according to the results of a study released earlier this month by the California Budget Project.
According to the report, more than 43 percent of all California households are renters, and nearly a quarter [...]

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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.5 percent in January, the U.S. Dept. of Labor reported today. January’s CPI level of 211.080 represents a 4.3 percent increase from January 2007, an increase largely fueled by a hike in food costs. The CPI for urban wage earners and clerical workers rose 0.5 percent in January to [...]

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The pace of new-home sales across California fell more than 30 percent in 2007 compared with 2006, according to recent data from the California Building Industry Association (CBIA). Its January report showed sales of single family homes dropped by 29.7 percent, with new home and condominium sales during 2007 totaling 61,861 compared with 89,773 the [...]

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Worries about identity fraud and other security issues appear to be impacting e-commerce transaction volume, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. While roughly 70 percent of Internet users polled said they viewed online shopping as a convenience, roughly 75 percent said they do not feel comfortable sending personal or [...]

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Montgomery Waller Community Park Carnival     February 21-24
Bring your family and friends! Attractions include traditional carnival rides and games, a Fun Factory for activities, snacks, a photo novelty booth to capture a memory, and a giant inflatable slide. 5:00pm - 11:00pm. Montgomery Waller Community Park (3060 Coronado Ave.) Admission $1.50 (age 7 & older) ~ FREE [...]

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