Following a decline in December 2005, the annual rate for privately owned housing starts rose in January, according to a report released by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. The January construction level was up 4% from a year ago. Single-family housing starts increased 2.8% from January 2005, while starts for buildings with five or more [...]

The number of mortgage default notices sent to California homeowners increased during the fourth quarter of 2005, rising 19% from the third quarter, according to a recent report by DataQuick Information Systems. Lending institutions sent default notices to nearly 15,000 homeowners between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, up 15.6% when compared with the 12,978 default [...]

To find this week’s Hot Property we ventured into the scenic city of Yucaipa. Located near the base of the foothills, Yucaipa is growing on a daily basis. With the recent development of the desireable Chapman Heights area, located along the newly built golf course, housing prices in Yucaipa have hit the roof. It is [...]

Tradition has it that if you fire a shotgun through the front doorway of this long, narrow home, the bullet will exit directly through the back door. The Shotgun style is characterized by a single story with a gabled roof. Shotguns are usually only one room wide, with each room leading directly into the next. [...]

The Pending Home Sales Index continued to decline in December 2005, reflecting the effect of higher mortgage interest rates in November, according to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors. Based on the number of transactions that have signed contracts but are not yet closed, the PHSI gauges home sales activity for upcoming [...]

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee raised the target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.5% this week, marking the 14th straight increase since June 2004. The federal funds target rate is the interest rate charged by banks when they borrow funds “overnight” from each other.
“Although recent economic data have been [...]