A minor hole, or a money pit? (Photo: Fulton Homes)

I ran across a tweet the other day about Fulton Homes, a builder in Phoenix, Ariz., that appears to be successfully competing against the foreclosures that are prevalent in its market.

Part of its marketing strategy is a foreclosure cost calculator, which gives prospective home buyers who are considering buying either a foreclosure or a new house a list of the potential costs associated with each, so that they can make a realistic comparison. You can adjust the calculator for the condition of the house – good, fair, poor or wrecked. I questioned some of the numbers in their estimate – I thought the price for exterior painting, windows, and HVAC sounded low and I’ve done replacement cabinets and flooring for a whole lot less – but it’s a good starting point for doing some math …Full Story

Friends of mine are shopping for a home in the pricey Princeton, N.J. area. Their price range is an entry-level one for that market, so they have been having some difficulty finding a home that suits their needs at a price they can afford. They finally found one they liked, put in a bid, and to their surprise (especially in today's economy), were beaten out by another buyer who offered cash for the house …Full Story

Among the hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, Detroit is also where some investors now see the most opportunity. Real estate investors from both out of state and abroad are buying in bulk, getting homes for as little as $1 to $10,000 dollars, reports the Associated Press. (The story includes a slideshow of Detroit investors and their purchases.) …Full Story

In the days of the rotary phone, households lacked things like cell phones and cable bills.

In response to Friday's post about "10 good things about a down housing market," one reader wrote in and mentioned how these days, when each member of a household has his or her own broadband connection, laptop, cell phone and TV with cable or satellite, we lose sight of how much many of us do have, despite today's tough economy …Full Story

In an earlier post, Ohan Antebian, Cyberhomes regional vice president of sales, wrote about possibly jumping back into the housing market this year and buying his family a new home, now that they've relocated from the Philadelphia area to California. Since moving in 2006, he and his family have been living in a small apartment and could use a bigger space. But before thinking about buying, he'd like "to be able to confirm the bottom of the real estate market," he says.

It seems a lot of buyers are waiting for a housing-market bottom before dipping their toes back into the market. To encourage these "fence sitters" that now may be a good time to buy, the National Association of Realtors has launched a new 2009 public awareness campaign to convince potential buyers that conditions are now favorable for buyers -- what with relatively low interest rates, improved affordability (thanks to lower home prices) and the availability of homes for sale. The new campaigns include TV ads, radio spots and print advertisements. (Check out one of NAR's TV spots at the end of this post.) …Full Story

On CNN.com, there is a story about two Californian couples who have found an interesting way to stay flush in today's troubled economic times -- both have traded in larger homes for ones that are almost ridiculously small.

The first couple, Bill and Sharon Kastrinos, own a 1,800-square-foot house, but hope to sell it to avoid paying its $1,500 a month mortgage and $160 a month utility payments.

They are now living in a 154-square-foot house (yup, that's right -- no typo here) that cost them $15,000, and for which they pay $15 a month in utilities. The home is located in what sounds like a nice neighborhood -- it's on their daughter's property in California's wine country, in an area where the average home cost $725,000 in 2007, CNN says. To sleep at night, the duo climbs a ladder to the loft. Because of cramped quarters, they store their extra clothing in their car …Full Story

Ask Cyberhomes: With so many foreclosures out there, I want to make sure I don't take out more mortgage than I can handle. How do I determine a monthly mortgage payment I can afford?

Answer: Qualifying for a home loan is harder these days. But if you can qualify for a mortgage, calculating a monthly mortgage payment within your reach is good insurance against taking out more loan than you can handle. Cyberhomes, in partnership with Bankrate.com, offers a calculator that can help determine a mortgage payment and a home price that are within your means …Full Story

Yesterday, we blogged about proposals from presidential candidates Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to shore up our nation's economy and the housing market. 

Today, Cyberhomes contributor Marcie Geffner takes a look at whose plan is the most likely to help homeowners in her article, "Obama or McCain: Who Would Help Homeowners?" , available in Cyberhomes' Good Reading.

Geffner writes that at least according to The Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit research organization, McCain's proposal, the American Homeownership Resurgence Plan, is unlikely to help individual homeowners. Through the plan, the federal government would purchase homeowners' mortgages and refinance them with 30-year, fixed-rate loans. But because homeowners' mortgages have been packaged into securities and sold to multiple investors, the government possibly would have no more luck than banks have had in modifying individual loans, Geffner says …Full Story

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development released the American Housing Survey Monday, and among the findings of the report is that one in three U.S. homes -- or 75.6 million -- are owned free and clear, without a mortgage. Which is hopeful, considering the dire straits that many Americans now find themselves in, what with the triple whammy of an ailing housing market, falling home values and the financial crisis.

The lack of a mortgage offers a significant financial boost for mortgage-free homeowners: the median monthly payment in 2007 for principal and interest was $852 for owner-occupied housing, according to the report. The median home value was $191,471 …Full Story

Homeownership costs are quite high in San Jose, Calif. (Photo:ajcasanova/ iStockphoto)

Housing costs are eating up a heftier portion of U.S. homeowners' incomes these days, according to 2007 data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The data shows that while experts traditionally caution not to spend in excess of 30 percent of one's income on housing -- whether it be to own a home or to rent one -- nearly 15 percent of U.S. homeowners (or 7.5 million people) who have a mortgage are spending at least half of their incomes on housing costs, the Associated Press notes. And 38 percent of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage are shelling out 30 percent or more of their income on housing, the AP says …Full Story