Scott Wall's (ask2agents) Blog

What the Fed was thinking when it cut the Fed Funds rate by a half percent to 3% on Jan. 30, according to the meeting minutes ...a relatively low real federal funds rate now appeared appropriate for a time to counter the factors that were restraining economic growth, including the slide in housin...

Housing weakness is killing furniture retailers. Nationwide, the Census Bureau says furniture and furnishing store sales grew just 1 percent last year, the worst showing since the recession-scarred and terrorism-titled year of 2001. And, to be extra cruel, 2008 started with furniture sales off at...

You will see a new government agency created next year that will go out and buy up all the houses. Trillions worth of unwanted houses. They'll put 'em on the books of the ol' USA, maybe even rent them out for a bit, and eventually they'll resell 'em for whatever they can get.Call it a Super-RTC. ...

Associated Press reports ...The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its political action committee has decided to stop making contributions to candidates for Congress "until further notice." Since 1990, the trade group has given nearly $20 million to federal candidates, with 35 per...

Why does your handyman return phone calls? Three reports suggest remodeling looks to be slow in 2008 ...• The National Association of Home Builder's Remodeling Market Index reveals :pressure from the housing downturn." For the fourth quarter, both the index's current market conditions indicator a...

Residential Homes trended DOWN by 26.9% (January Year-to-Year)Original Price:                                   $287,960Sales Price:                                      $242,567         (84.2% of Original Price) Average Days on Market:                   129Number of Homes Sold:                  ...

Residential Homes trended DOWN by 17.3% (January Year-to-Year)Original Price:                                   $464,594Sales Price:                                      $414,708         (89.3% of Original Price) Average Days on Market:                   101Number of Homes Sold:                  ...

Residential Homes trended DOWN by 18.9% (January Year-to-Year)Original Price:                                   $511,932Sales Price:                                      $449,896         (88.0% of Original Price) Average Days on Market:                   168Number of Homes Sold:                  ...

When is a rent increase, not an increase? When you call it something else.At least that's how ApartmentRatings.com sees it based on reviews of apartments submitted by over 600,000 renters.Some of what ApartmentRatings.com describes as "unscrupulous landlords" are finding ways to make money off th...

A useful way to look at the total cost of housing is to evaluate the monthly cost of ownership. An ownership cost is any expenditure required for the possession of property. A working definition is important because there are many hidden or forgotten costs people overlook. These costs are borne b...