Nationwide, the median home price for the third quarter of 2011 was $176,000, according to Paycheck to Paycheck, an online interactive database compiled by the Center for Housing Policy. But in San Francisco, which claimed the top spot for most expensive city for home buyers, the median price was $585,000. The Center for Housing Policy tracks wage information for 74 occupations and compares it to the cost of housing — for owning and renting — in more than 200 metro areas.

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Fixed mortgage rates dropped even more this week, continuing the trend in reaching new record lows this year, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.94 percent this week while 15-year rates sank to 3.21 percent — both all-time lows from their previous record lows set on Oct. 6. The 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage also set a new record this week.

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From Chinese investors flocking to California to Canadian snowbirds heading to Arizona, international home buyers are offering a growing niche for more real estate professionals. But which places are international investors targeting in their home search? Point2Homes.com evaluated where buyers from overseas are looking online to gauge possible current and future home-purchasing patterns.

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More real estate professionals and developers are finding that it’s not important to just sell the qualities of a home but also the neighborhood in reaching today’s home buyers. As such, more real estate professionals are setting up special neighborhood blogs geared to highlighting the benefits of the surrounding area.

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It’s been a record-breaking year for natural disasters striking the U.S., from hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes to floods and wildfires, according to a new report from CoreLogic’s new Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has estimated $52 billion–and counting–in damages from natural disasters this year.

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