The outlook for California's real estate market is looking brighter. (Photo: iStockphoto)

The median sales price for October was $257,000, a 2.4 percent increase over the $251,000 in September. The number of sales rose 2.6 percent from September to October. The numbers were generally consistent throughout the state …Full Story

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

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

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

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

During our search for a rental property, some properties we thought we missed out on have resurfaced on the market.

We recently got on the trail of another house in our search for a rental property we want to purchase with some friends, who are first-time real estate investors. We also revisited an old friend, the first house we saw but missed out on …Full Story

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

When looking for a Realtor, do you search for someone who looks like you? (Photo: iStockphoto)

Daniel Berman wants you to buy a house from him. He can give you lots of reasons to trust him, but his primary selling point, laid out on his Web site is that he’s a vegetarian.

Really.

A San Francisco Chronicle blog post on Berman sent ripples through the blogosphere, where commenters scoffed, mocked and generally belittled Berman …Full Story

Is this the kind of frenzy you'd like to see in ithe housing market? I don't think so. (Photo: iStockphoto)

I ran across a blog post the other day from John McManus, the editorial director of several real estate trade magazines and a former colleague of mine. The headline was "Long Absent, Buying Frenzy Resurfaces as a Way to Describe Home Buying." Intertwined with his discussion of the housing demand as buyers try to beat the deadline for the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit was a sort of giddiness at being able to even use the term "buying frenzy" after so many gut-wrenching quarters of relentless bad news …Full Story

Nigerian scammers are posting fake rentals for landlords they say are doing missionary work abroad. (Photo: iStockphoto.)

Nigerian money scams: They aren’t just for fake deposed royalty anymore.

Now, apparently, they're for fake bad landlords, too. And they’re working through that great clearinghouse of “sensual massages” and missed connections—Craigslist, without Craigslist's knowledge, of course …Full Story