The National Association of Realtors predicts an improved real estate market for 2010. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Home prices may rise 4 percent next year, Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, told real estate professionals at NAR’s annual convention, held earlier this month in San Diego …Full Story

The median home price in New York's Buffalo-Niagara Falls area rose 4.8 percent from a year ago. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Not everything is headed down in today’s real estate market. Despite that median home prices fell in 123 out of 153 U.S. metro areas, according to recent data from the National Association of Realtors, median home prices are up in 30 cities from where they were a year ago. And some of these cities have seen substantial increases. Could these cities be harbingers of more positive real estate news? I hope so …Full Story

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

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

Would you buy a home that is said to be haunted? (Photo: iStockphoto)

When your kids go trick or treating this year, is there a "haunted house" they'll try to avoid?

In my town, there are no true "haunted" houses that I know of, but there is this one old once-mansion that now is quite decrepit and appears to be falling down. My daughters do call it a "haunted house," sad to say. It's a shame because the home must have been wonderful in its day -- it looks like it was once surrounded by beautiful gardens, but they are now a tangled mass of weeds. Luckily, the owner is fixing up the home, but it has been a very slow process. The roof is covered with a blue tarp, and part of the home's exterior is just plywood …Full Story

Overly scary Halloween decor can come back to haunt home sellers. (Photo: iStockphoto)

This year, my 6-year-old daughters have been begging me to up the ante with our Halloween decorations. I have some Halloween décor, but most of it are fairly tasteful displays of the season, like a spray of purple, green and orange pumpkin lights around the door, two pumpkins that my daughters chose at a local pumpkin patch, and a brightly colored "Trick or Treat" sign on the front door …Full Story

This rental property has two extra bedrooms that appear to have been added without permits.

After getting skunked in several attempts to purchase a house to use as a rental property in our target city, we’ve decided to expand the search to nearby towns. We’re also considering properties that we don’t think will appeal to owner-occupied buyers or investors who don’t want to put much work into their purchase …Full Story

We set our sights on this house, which has good-sized lot, recent upgrades and lots of potential.

After passing on a bank-owned property last week because it was located next to a parking area at the back of a neighborhood shopping center, we saw a foreclosed property this week that we decided to make an offer on …Full Story

In many ways, the landscape looks bleak for large homes. (Photo: iStockphoto)

How big of a house do people really want? There was an interesting blog post on WallStreetJournal.com asking whether large houses are headed for obsolescence. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are because historically, they haven’t been the norm. I had a conversation with a builder not too long ago about what kind of houses are selling in today’s market, and he told me that until the advent of easy financing, their sweet spot was in the 1,200- to 1,500-square-foot range. When buyers started getting approved for bigger mortgages, the square footage jumped accordingly. Now, as loan approvals are tighter, people are looking once again at smaller homes …Full Story