Great video on the important points of the homebuyer tax credit… http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2009/11/08/nr.homebuyer.tax.credit.cnn

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/11/05/its-almost-official-home-buyer-tax-credit-extended-expanded/

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/senate.homebuyers.credit/index.html

See the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s take on “what it will take”

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09305/1009657-28.stm

The housing market shows signs of a recovery. Is the Pittsburgh area on the upswing? http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/6-signs-your-home-will-increase-in-value/?cid=1108

In short, the data suggest that real-estate prices hit a bottom some time during the second quarter, and have now begun to rise. There’s no way to be certain that this marks the end of the long, painful correction that followed the real-estate bubble, but clearly prices are no longer in free-fall. That means if you’ve been sitting on the fence, it’s time to act. Read the full article here:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204047504574386802310702622.html

In 20 metro areas around the U.S., the cost of buying a home is only a little more — and in two metros actually less — than renting

Number # 2. Pittsburgh Metro (Penn.)
Own/rent ratio: 97%
Annual cost to own: $8,947
Annual cost to rent: $9,252

The Pittsburgh area has a population of about 2.3 million. The former steel town now has large employment in the education and health-care industries. Heinz and United States Steel have headquarters there. The area has escaped the worst of the recession and had a 7.7% unemployment rate in June. Read the full article here: http://customsites.yahoo.com/financiallyfit/finance/article-107589-2419-0-where-its-cheaper-to-buy-than-rent

Existing home sales jump to two year high! The National Association of Realtors reports sales of existing homes jumped 7.2 percent in July, the biggest monthly increase since it began keeping track in 1999.

Sales rose to an annual pace of 5.24 million. It was the fourth consecutive monthly increase in existing home sales, the longest streak since June 2004. Sales were 5 percent higher than a year ago, the first time sales were above year ago levels since November 2005.

“The housing market has decisively turned for the better,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. “A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing the higher sales.”

Read the full article here: http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/08/17/daily43.html?ed=2009-08-21&ana=e_du_pub

Are there really places around the U.S. where home values are going up? How about right here in Pittsburgh! According to real-estate site Zillow.com’s second-quarter home value index, there are more than 30 metro areas across the country where values have risen from the first quarter of the year to the second quarter. And Pittsburgh is among them! Read all about it… http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=21147414#7

America’s Best Hospitals: the 2009–10 Honor Roll They’re the best of the best—the 0.4 percent of all hospitals with high scores in 6 or more specialties . This year, the 20th for Best Hospitals, institutions are ranked in 16 specialties, from cancer and heart disease to respiratory disorders and urology. A total of 4,861 hospitals were considered; 174, or less than 0.4 percent of the total, were ranked in even one of the 16 specialties. See the full article here:  http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/best-hospitals/2009/07/15/americas-best-hospitals-the-2009-2010-honor-roll.html