Despite sliding interest rates, few home buyers are coming out to play. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Although interest rates have dropped to a five-week low, there has been a potentially unsettling surprise in the numbers.

The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey said the average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan with a 20 percent down payment was 4.90 percent for the week ending Nov. 6 …Full Story

Stranded move-up buyers are watching for the tide to rise. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Anyone who has been looking to buy an entry-level house can likely share stories of losing the battle in a war of multiple bids. Outside of a few hardest hit areas, the entry-level market is nothing if not robust.

A big reason is the pent-up demand that was created by quickly appreciating home prices. Although homeowners cheered when the price of their home increased, there were many others who groaned, knowing that home ownership was that much farther from their grasp …Full Story

Books are nice, but they do tend to stack up. (Photo: iStockphoto)

An elite prep school in Ashburnham, Mass., has upset bibliophiles everywhere by exchanging its 20,000-volume book collection for a digital database of books that holds millions of titles, says NPR.org …Full Story

Spring 2010 may bring a perfect storm of falling demand, inflated home prices, rising interest rates and disappearing capital. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Although there are some glimmers of hope that a real estate turnabout is just around the corner, it seems just as likely that the coming spring could bring a storm of epic proportions …Full Story

Sure, they are pretty, but do you want thousands of them in your home? (Photo: iStockphoto)

With their vibrant red wings and black spots, ladybugs aren’t often thought of as pests in the traditional sense of the word. Children and others who’d usually run screaming from any type of beetle or bug are apt to like them, and farmers and gardeners welcome ladybugs because they are known to goggle up lots of crop-destroying pests …Full Story

Many people are hoping they'll qualify for the expanded home buyer credit. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Last week, President Barack Obama signed the “Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009,” which extends the $8,000 tax credit available to “first-time” home buyers and adds a tax credit of up to $6,500 for repeat or move-up buyers. The tax credits are available to those who purchase a primary home, and aren’t available to buyers of investment or vacation homes …Full Story

Pricing is a big factor in whether any item -- whether a sofa or a home -- will sell. (Photo: iStockphoto)

When it comes to selling a home, one of the biggest mistakes is pricing it incorrectly.

That’s especially a problem these days, as home prices drop and home sellers compete for a relatively small pool of interested home buyers …Full Story

A college town can get you a diploma -- and an affordable home. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Most of us hold a soft spot in our heart for our college town. My college town is Bryn Mawr, Pa., home to Bryn Mawr College, my alma mater, and where Katharine Hepburn, one of the school’s most famous alums, studied. Located on Philadelphia’s Main Line, the real estate there is fantastic -- there are plenty of winding leafy streets filled with beautiful large homes that I most likely will never be able to afford …Full Story

Golfer Greg Norman is shooting for a lofty price on his Colorado ranch.

Earlier, today, I blogged about the oceanfront home that golf Greg Norman shared with ex-wife Laura Andrassy and has on the market for $60 million.

Well, now that he’s separating from his new wife of 15 months, tennis star Chris Evert, he’s also selling his Colorado estate. He has the 11,601-acre “Seven Lakes” Ranch, which is located near Meeker, Colo., listed for $55 million …Full Story

Golfing great Greg Norman has raised the asking price for this oceanfront home.

Golfing great Greg Norman has set the price for his oceanfront home in Jupiter Island, Florida, at a whopping $60 million. The 8-acre estate -- which has 172 feet of oceanfront and 370 feet on the Intracoastal Waterway -- is where President Bill Clinton famously injured his knee in 1997 …Full Story