What’s in Store for Housing in 2012?

The worst for the housing market may finally be over, according to housing experts in a recent article in Kiplinger. After median home price have dropped nearly 40 percent nationwide, a rebound is taking shape — although, housing experts say, the market may stay flat for awhile before gradually ticking up.

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Home Owners Try Delay Tactics to Stall Foreclosures

The average time it takes for banks to process a foreclosure — from missed mortgage payment to the final part of the process — has increased to 674 days, more than double the time frame foreclosures took just four years ago, according to LPS Applied Analytics. Four years ago, the average time nationally was 253 days.

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7 Cities Where List Prices Are Falling the Most

Nationally, median list prices have mostly been flat since June, but some markets are still seeing some decreases in home prices, according to the latest data from Realtor.com of 146 metro markets.

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Rental Boom Takes Shape

The multifamily market continues to post gains. “Rents are rising, vacancies are falling, household formations are growing and rental supply is limited,” according to a recent report, “2012: The Year of the Landlord,” issued by Morgan Stanley. “We believe the demand for rental properties will continue to grow.”

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Safest Places to Live

Where are the most “secure places” — large or mid-size metro areas — in the nation to live? The annual Farmers Insurance Group of Companies ranked nearly 400 communities based on safety and security in its eighth annual study on the “most secure places to live for 2011.”

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Falling Home Values Mean Budget Crunches for Cities

The country has been mired in a housing crisis for the past five years; and the worst may still lie ahead for local governments, because of the time it takes for property assessments to reflect home depreciation.

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