Despite falling interest rates, some consumers are still hesitant to buy a home.

For the second week in a row, mortgages to purchase properties fell despite interest rates falling. According to a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage interest rates fell from 4.90 percent to 4.83 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate purchase loan with a 20 percent down payment …Full Story

There's been some negative coverage of the home buyers tax credit. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Although the real estate industry did not get everything it hoped for when the home buyers tax credit was recently extended and expanded, they were more than happy the program was continued.

But for some, there’s a lot not to love about the home buyer tax credit …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

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

Want a bigger home? A new tax-credit proposal may help you afford one. (Photo: iStockphoto)

The Senate appears to have sifted through the myriad proposals to extend the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit and draft a program that will include those who have owned their home for at least five years …Full Story

An extension of the tax credit for first-time home buyers is looking more likely. (Photo: Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)

There’s a lot of chatter right now about whether Congress will extend or expand the first-time home buyer tax credit. The National Association of Realtors reported that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) both support an extension …Full Story

The $8,000 tax credit has opened the door for a housing market recovery, a new study says. (Photo: iStockphoto)

A new study commissioned by Fix Housing First, a group lobbying Congress for extension and expansion of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, reports that the tax credit has made a significant impact on helping the housing industry recover …Full Story

Wall Street expects a tax credit extension to boost home sales next year. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Real estate industry folks have been doing the happy dance lately with the announcement from Wall Street investment firm Goldman Sachs Group that new U.S. home sales may jump 30 percent next year. They based that forecast on low interest rates and a better than even chance that Congress will extend or amend the first-time home buyer tax credit. A CNNMoney.com article cites even better odds; it quotes Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with Concept Capital’s Washington Research Group, who gives the chances of an extension being approved at 2 to 1 …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

The outlook is cloudy for many home buyers racing to meet the $8,000 tax-credit deadline. (Photo: iStockphoto)

About 1.4 million home buyers have used the $8,000 first-time home buyer credit, according to the Internal Revenue Service. And from the looks from comments to this blog, there are many, many more potential home buyers out there looking to benefit from the credit. But the catch is that the credit is only available to taxpayers who've purchased a home before Dec. 1 of this year, leaving those who haven't qualified yet for the tax credit a very limited time to do so. And while there have been some signs of hope that the credit could be extended into 2010, the jury is still out on whether it actually will be …Full Story