Is It the Beginning of the End for Housing Crisis?  “We are likely seeing the beginning of the end of the unprecedented wave of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures that started with the subprime defaults in early 2007,” said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, in a written statement.  Read more…

Buyers Shift More Firmly into Driver’s Seat during January 2010
For the second month in a row, home buyers across much of the country negotiated bigger discounts off the last listing price of homes than they had the prior month, according to new data from real estate website Zillow.com. Read more…

Good news for older Americans, home prices on the rebound. Older Americans were one of the last segments of the population to see home prices rebound, but overall home values for seniors remain significantly lower than 2008 levels. Despite this rise in the national average, the report also showed significant decline in many large states, including Florida, Texas and New York.
This mixed recovery in terms of senior home values will likely continue as individual markets reduce inventory and regain their footing. Data from the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices shows that many markets within these states continue to show improvement, and this should eventually contribute to an increase in home values for older Americans as well . Read more…

Market Report 3.15.10