Existing-home sales continued on an uptrend in December, rising for three consecutive months and remaining above where they were a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
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Appraisers: Don’t Blame Us
“Don’t shoot the messenger,” is the message the Appraisal Institute has for those in the real estate industry. Appraisers have been taking heat the last few months over low home values, with critics arguing that values aren’t matching a home listing or contract’s price and valuations are unfairly weighing distressed properties into the equation.
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The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit another all-time low this week, marking the seventh straight week it has averaged below 4 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.  Here’s a closer look at rates for the week ending Jan. 19:
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Fallen home prices and record-low mortgage rates have pushed housing affordability to a 40-year high. Meanwhile, rental prices are continuing to rise at a fast pace, according to a new report released by Hotpads.com, a rental listing service.   Rental prices in 20 of the largest metro areas increased 3.75 percent in 2011, and prices are expected to continue to rise in 2012. Meanwhile, home prices fell by 1.83 percent in 2011, according to the report.
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The iPhone 4S, which debuted in October, launched with a big bang and to record-breaking sales, and it’s being credited with helping Apple narrow its gap against its chief rival,  Google’s Android.  The research firm Nielsen reports that more than half of shoppers who purchased a new smartphone last fall chose an Android phone. Yet, Android’s market share dropped by about 12 percent when the iPhone 4S made its debut.
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A former rapper who rose to fame in the early 1990s for his hit single “Ice, Ice Baby” is back, but he’s now turning from rapper to handyman as he renovates and flips foreclosed, abandoned homes on a reality TV show. Robert Van Winkle, better known by his alias Vanilla Ice, shows off his renovation skills in the reality TV show, “The Vanilla Ice Project,” on the DIY Network. The show was renewed for a second season, which starts Jan. 21.
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