The Good News in The Sinking Housing Market Housing prices across the country have fallen dramatically over the past year because of the increase in foreclosures. But there is good news for those who have the cash to buy. Full Story

Home Prices Off Record 18% From Past Year Data through October 2008, released by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, shows continued broad based declines in the prices of existing single family homes across the United States, with 14 of the 20 metro areas showing record rates of annual decline and 14 now reporting declines in excess of 10%. Full Story

Homeowner Feeds Agent Tainted Gingerbread, Police Say In this bizarre story, a 28-year-old real estate agent became ill after eating a piece of "special" gingerbread given to him by a homeowner, when he visited her to discuss selling her home. Police say, the gingerbread was tainted with marijuana and possibly other drugs. Full Story

Existing-Home Sales Decline in Economic Uncertainty Existing-home sales weakened against a backdrop of an eroding economy, according to the National Association of Realtors. Full Story

Decline In Housing Production Accelerates In November Indicating that the ongoing decline in housing and the economy is accelerating, starts and permits for new housing construction fell by double digits to new record lows in November, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures. Full Story

New-Home Sales Continue Downward In November Sales of newly built single-family homes declined 2.9 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 407,000 units, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. Full Story

Readers' Choice: The Top 10 Stories of 2008 It's been quite a year, one that many real estate professionals might care to forget. But before we close the books on 2008, let's take a look back and check out the most read stories of the year. We count down from ten to number one. Full Story

Master the Single Greatest Skill for Real Estate Success by Craig Forte, Contributing Author Have you ever heard the saying, "If you aren't outraged, you haven't been paying attention"? Well, there's an "outrage" being committed by well-intended (but misguided) "experts" in our industry…and it's sending unsuspecting agents down a freeway to frustration and failure. Full Story

Are You The True "Go To" Resource Your Customer Wants? By Thomas M. Mitchell Fluff or Puffery has been used in the real estate industry for years to describe properties such as "Best Home in Neighborhood" or "Great Deal." Unfortunately it has even extended itself to some agents' description as the “South Area Specialist” or the "Neighborhood Expert." You clearly need to do more, know more, and be a cut above the competition... Full Story

Realtors Adopt Micro-Blogging By Stefan Swanepoel Micro-blogging (short text-based 140 character post) is the latest craze in social media phenomena to hit real estate. And the leader of the pack is Twitter. According to HubSpot, 1 million people joined Twitter since October, pushing the new 2008 Twitter users to 3.5 million and the grand total to 5 million Twitterers or Tweeple. Full Story

Understanding Short Sales - Part 2 By Darryl Davis Now that you have a clear understanding of what a "Short Sale" is, you may realize the necessity to participate in this market. As we stated in Understanding Short Sales - Part 1, the recent decline in property values has created many challenges for real estate agents and homeowners alike. However, a short sale is an answer for all parties involved, and can benefit the homeowner, the lender, and you, as an agent. Full Story

Long-Term Rates Fall For Ninth Consecutive Week Wednesday, December 31, 2008 Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 31, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 5.14 percent. Full Story

Zillow.com Launches Zillow Advice Tuesday, December 23, 2008 Zillow.com Real estate Web site Zillow.com announced the launch of Zillow Advice, an online resource for consumers to find answers to specific local real estate questions. Full Story

New Members Named to Freddie Mac's Board Of Directors Tuesday, December 23, 2008 Freddie Mac Freddie Mac announced that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as Conservator of Freddie Mac, has appointed 10 directors to the board, bringing the total number of directors to 11. Full Story

NAR: Make Mortgages More Attainable Tuesday, December 23, 2008 National Association of Realtors The National Association of Realtors applauds recent actions by the Federal Reserve. However, further action is needed to help the thousands of people trying to buy a home or to stem off foreclosure to get a mortgage easily and quickly. Full Story

HOPE NOW Projects Big Increases in Foreclosure Prevention Successes in 2009 Monday, December 22, 2008 HOPE NOW HOPE NOW has announced that it expects to double the number of foreclosures prevented in 2009 by enhancing and expanding its very successful 2008 efforts. Full Story

States Strengthen Response to Foreclosure Crisis, According to New Research from the Pew Center on the States Thursday, December 18, 2008 Pew Center on the States States are stepping up their response to the nation's housing crisis with new legislation and programs to help homeowners, limit high-cost lending and curb foreclosures, according to research released by the Pew Center on the States. Full Story