Gen Y buyers don't want a long commute to work. (Photo: iStockphoto)

From where Raffi Arslanian sits, Generation Y is the perfect home buyer. The architect and developer has 20 years experience designing and building commercial and residential properties, but turned his focus to Generation Y in the past five years. He tailors his units in northern New Jersey to these buyers—who Cyberhomes finds are increasingly picky and still want all the finer things in life. And despite the downturn in the economy, he says his units are still selling out.  …Full Story

Hats off to Austin, which was named the top healthiest housing market. (Photo: iStockphoto)

The fall update on the 20 healthiest housing markets from BUILDER and Hanley Wood Market Intelligence is out. Cruising through the list is a very interesting exercise. Nearly all the markets on the list have at least one of three factors shoring up demand – a major university, a military base or a position as a capital city …Full Story

Sunets and beaches invoke some of my most favorite memories. (Photo: iStockphoto.com)

It wasn’t what she thought she’d come up with, but a kitchen with a skylight and a couch under it to stare up at the passing clouds and daydream was exactly what Toby Israel ended up with in her New Jersey home …Full Story

Which of the four "F's" are keeping you out of the housing market? (Photo: iStockphoto)

Home Sales: The Four "F"s are still taking hold of buyers -- Fear, Financing, Falling Prices and Finding a Buyer for their 'other' house. That was a tweet I saw the other day from Bradley Hunter, chief economist for MetroStudy, which is a housing market research firm. He leads up a team of 650 researchers in 25 major housing markets across the country …Full Story

Homeowners with good credit are opting to give away the keys. (Photo: iStockphoto)

A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Ron Jasgur, a Michigan-based real estate investor, for a piece I was writing about streamlining foreclosures and short sales. One of his comments about the massive number of bank-owned properties stuck with me: "Nobody’s modeling took into account that someone would wake up one morning and decide not to pay their mortgage." …Full Story

Are you in the market to buy a home, looking to sell one, or are perhaps a real estate investor hoping to take advantage of today's low home prices and make an investment?

If so, Cyberhomes has a free service that may be of interest to you. At no cost to you, Cyberhomes has free property reports that you can download and print. If you are a house hunter, for example, you can download reports on homes you may be interested in purchasing. The 17-page reports contain information like the facts about a home (home size, lot size, number of bedrooms, etc.), listing information such as the listing price and the listing agent's contact info, and local market data such as the local market's median sales price, school stats like student enrollment and expenditures per student, and local employment indicators. These reports can make it easier to remember each home's facts and to compare each property against other homes on the market …Full Story

Want a wad of cash for your house? It may be harder to get than you think. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Attention sellers: No one cares what you want to get for your house.

I know, not fair, right? After all, you have a lot invested in your home: All those years of love, care and upkeep; all those memories; and, after all, all that money. And then there’s your new home—how much did you pay for that again? …Full Story

Where will the road lead in our nation's 'under water' mortgage crisis? (Photo: iStockphoto)

The rising tide of underwater mortgages has become a flood. According to a report by Deutsche Bank last week as reported in the New York Times , nearly 50 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage will owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth by the time the housing recession ends in 2011 …Full Story

This is John and me at 19, when he bought his first house. For the first time in three decades, we're ready to not be homeowners.

It's been nearly 30 years, but I vividly remember a conversation with my then-fiance, John. He was renting an apartment in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and he hated it. He felt like he was throwing his hard-earned rent money down the drain …Full Story

As reported on Cyberhomes this week, some new federal rules have gone into effect recently regarding various aspects of the real estate transaction. Like most federal rules, they’re supposed to solve problems, protect consumers, or generally do something positive.

Except when they don’t.

One of those new rules is the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, or HVCC, which applies to loans sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. (If you’re getting an FHA loan, you can stop reading now. It doesn’t apply to you — yet.) …Full Story