Housing News

The housing market may finally be leaning on the economy's gas pedal-but it's also keeping a foot on the brake.

Stocks are moving higher Wednesday morning after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said it was too soon for the central bank to pull back on its massive economic stimulus programs.

Existing-home sales rose in April to hit the highest rate since November 2009, pointing to an ongoing recovery supported by low interest rates and pent-up demand, according to data released Wednesday.

In this Tuesday, April 2, 2013, photo, Sam and Liz Weidner, of Hudsonville, Mich., view a home for sale in Lowell, Mich.

Wondering what other homes sold in Weston this week? Patch is too, and we're hoping our readers and real estate agents can help us answer the question.

Housing prices have increased steadily currently "up to 20 percent from their lows," with an annual price appreciation of 7 percent to 10 percent," according to a Cal State Fullerton economic report from April.

Mark Huffman has been a consumer news reporter for ConsumerAffairs since 2004. He covers real estate, gas prices and the economy and has reported extensively on negative-option sales.

Judging by early demand for everything from doggie daycare to Ferrari rentals and fine art, rich Americans are going to make this a strong summer in one of their favorite playgrounds - the beach towns on the eastern end of Long Island collectively known as the Hamptons.

Home prices in Burbank continued to surge last month, with sharp price increases since February as a severely limited number of homes for sale has created fierce competition among buyers, according to the latest real estate report.

The popular online vacation rental business, Airbnb , was deemed illegal in New York City, according to an administrative law judge.

Home Depot Inc. , the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, posted first-quarter profit that topped analysts' estimates and raised its forecast for earnings this year as the housing rebound boosts renovation spending.

Housing sales in Wisconsin continue to rebound. April brings a 22nd consecutive month of growth with sales up 9 percent compared to the month previous.

So good were the figures that Home Depot raised its forecast for the year. Looking ahead, Home Depot expects to make $3.52 a share in 2013, up from an earlier forecast of $3.37 a share.

Single-family home sales in the Chicago suburbs grew 33.2 percent in April 2013, compared to the same month in 2012, according to data provided by the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors .

Lenders tightened home equity standards a couple of years ago, and it has been hard to leverage all the equity in a home because about 10 to 20 percent must remain untouched.

A lot of investors who love to buy at the bottom and sell at the top are kicking themselves these days-for missing the market peak in gold and the nadir in housing.

As Realtors enter the peak home selling season, Terry Westbrook, president of the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors has one complaint.

Sales of existing homes in April surged again in the Indianapolis area. Sales jumped 18.7 percent, to 2,629, from the same month a year ago in the 13-county metro area, the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors said.

Hong Kong shares jumped to their highest since early February on Monday, led by Chinese cyclical counters, as investors chased a resurgent mainland China market on their return from a Friday holiday, which posted a fourth-straight day of gains.

In order to get in on hot housing markets, amateur investors are buying up homes and taking risky measures -- like tapping their retirement accounts -- to fund the deals.