Calif. median home price: March 2010: $301,790 (Source: C.A.R.) Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region March 2010: Santa Barbara So. Coast $890,000(Source: C.A.R.) Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region March 2010: High Desert $122,970 (Source: C.A.R.) Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Fourth Quarter 2009: 64 percent (Source: C.A.R.) Mortgage rates – week ending 5/6/10 [...]

RadioShack’s online electronics trade-in program allows customers to exchange used, portable electronics for a RadioShack gift card. Accepted items include GPS devices, MP3 players, notebooks, and game consoles. Visit http://radioshack.cexchange.com/online/home/index.rails to learn the trade-in value and download the prepaid shipping labels. Gift cards arrive within 10 to 14 days.

National vacancy rates for owner-occupied housing decreased 0.1 percentage points in the first quarter of 2010 to 2.6 percent, according to the Dept. of Commerce’s Census Bureau.  Meanwhile, vacancy rates nationwide for rental housing increased 0.5 percentage points to 10.6 percent during the same period.  The homeownership rate of 67.1 percent was 0.2 percentage points [...]

Home values in most U.S. markets continued to decline in the first quarter of 2010, according to  the Zillow Home Value Index which decreased 3.8 percent year-over-year, and 1 percent quarter-over-quarter. However, home values in several California markets showed signs of improvement, according to the report. Housing market conditions varied across the country, with 106 [...]

Fannie Mae recently announced it is extending its seller assistance incentive on all Fannie Mae-owned HomePath properties. Buyers will receive 3.5 percent of the final sales price, to be used toward closing cost assistance or their choice of selected appliances. The offer is available to any owner-occupant who closes on the purchase of a property [...]