This Week’s Relevant News: 7/29 – 8/4

 ”Fate chooses your relations, you choose your friends.”

- Jacques Delille (1738 – 1813) French poet.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Home values rise for first time in 5 years

Home prices hit a bottom and are finally bouncing back, according to an industry report released Tuesday

http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/24/real_estate/home-values/index.htm?source=linkedin

Related:

 Home Prices Reflect Strengthening

 Home prices in the second quarter rose from the year-ago period for the first time since 2007

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443295404577545200776537294.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNewsmod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Real

Related:

 Housing Market Turns Corner; U.S. Home Values Post First Annual Increase In Nearly Five Years

Zillow’s second quarter Real Estate Market Reports, released today, show home values increased 2.1% from the first to the second quarter of 2012

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stanhumphries/2012/07/24/housing-market-turns-corner-u-s-home-values-post-first-annual-increase-in-nearly-five-years/

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Goldman Sachs Sees ‘Strong’ Recovery Starting for Housing

U.S. homebuilders are an attractive investment as the housing market starts a “strong” recovery that may drive a surge in new-home sales, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) said in a report today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-23/goldman-sachs-sees-strong-recovery-starting-for-housing.html

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Is This What a Housing Bottom Looks Like?

Another housing report shows that market activity is up considerably from one year ago but easing off of the levels set by a surge of transactions earlier this year

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/07/26/is-this-what-a-housing-bottom-looks-like/

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Rental vacancies at lowest rate since 2002

The national residential rental vacancy rate in the second quarter was at 8.6% from 8.8% in the first quarter

http://housingwire.com/news/q2-rental-vacancies-lowest-rate-2002

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Fannie Mae to pay foreclosure attorneys higher fees

Foreclosures are taking more time and cost more to complete

http://housingwire.com/news/fannie-pay-foreclosure-attorneys-more-states-alter-process

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Pocket listings’: Real estate’s hidden market

Some homes are bought and sold without ever being officially listed.

http://realestate.msn.com/pocket-listings-real-estates-hidden-market

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Realtor tries a new tack with music video

 A Realtor in North Carolina is trying (tongue-in-cheek) a new tack to get potential clients to call

http://www.inman.com/news/2012/07/25/realtor-tries-a-new-tack-with-music-video

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Real estate experts say mess could be solved if government would stop helping

participants ranging from economists to green architects addressed some of the most pressing real estate issues

http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/real-estate-experts-say-mess-could-be-solved-if-government-would-stop-helping/2012/07/18/gJQAn4MiwW_story.html

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Housing turnaround becomes tailwind for weak economy

 The housing market is converting into a tailwind for the broader economy as construction activity gains momentum

http://www.housingwire.com/news/housing-turns-tailwind-weaker-national-economy-0

Related:

Housing Isn’t a Horror Show Anymore

 Housing is finally contributing to economic growth in a sustained way

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/07/27/housing-isnt-a-horror-show-anymore/

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

As Low Rate Environment Persists, Refinance Applications Reach Highest Level Since 2009

 The Refinance Index increased 2 percent from the previous week to its highest level since April 19, 2009.

http://www.mortgagebankers.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/81419.htm

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Green’ home brings in 9% more green, California study finds

 The study looked at an unusually large sample of 1.6 million homes sold in California between 2007 and early 2012, Ken Harney reports

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2018702566_harney22.html

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Government Home-Price Index Registers Gain.

 U.S. home prices rose for the fourth-straight month in May, a sign of the gradual recovery in the housing market, according to a government home price index released Tuesday

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/07/24/government-home-price-index-registers-gain/

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

“Links” are edited each week by John Deely