For example, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are trying to liquidate its REOs, the National Mortgage News reports. By the end of 2010, Fannie Mae was authorizing lenders to offer the HomePath program for Fannie Mae REOs. In the program, which is available to individual buyers and investors, home buyers do not need perfect credit and can put down as little as 3 percent of the property price, qualifying for a loan up to  97 percent of the purchase price. 

Also, HUD’s National Community Stabilization Trust “First Look” program is providing competitive prices on REO properties and giving buyers priority access to these homes before they are broadly listed for sale.  

Some cities are coming up with their own programs to stimulate sales. For example, JPMorgan Chase recently teamed with Detroit city officials to offer down payment assistance to police officers and city employees who purchase a vacant home in the city over the next two years. The first buyers will receive $25,000 in down payment assistance, while 60 other buyers will receive up to $15,000. 

Source: “REO Incentives Accelerate,” National Mortgage News (Aug. 29, 2011)

Women between 18 to 29 years old account for the “power users” of social networking sites, according to Pew. Nearly 90 percent of women in that age group use social networking sites, with 69 percent saying they use it every day.  

Young adults still tend to dominate social networking and are twice as likely to use social networking sites every day than older adults. Overall, 83 percent of those in the 18-29 age bracket say they use social networking sites, compared to 51 percent aged 50-64. 

While social networking has blossomed over recent years, the Internet is still most used everyday for e-mail and search, according to the survey. Sixty-one percent of survey respondents said they went online every day to check e-mail, nearly 60 percent for search, and 43 percent who reported checking social networking sites every day.

Source: “Half of America Is Using Social Networks,” The New York Times (Aug. 26, 2011)

About 72 percent of all new and existing-homes sold in the second quarter of the year were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,200, according to the index. The record high remains 74.6 percent, which was reached last quarter. 

"At a time when home ownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades and interest rates are at historically low levels, the sluggish economy and the extremely tight credit conditions confronting home buyers and builders remain significant obstacles to many potential home sales," says Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. "That said, however, some housing markets across the country have stabilized and are beginning to show signs of a budding recovery."

Most Affordable Housing Markets

According to the index, Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., was the most affordable major housing market during the second quarter with 93.7 percent of all homes sold found to be affordable to households earning the area's median family income of $54,900. Other cities ranking near the top for affordability is: Syracuse, N.Y.; Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.; Dayton, Ohio; and Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.

Least Affordable Markets

The index found the least affordable market in the country--for the 13th consecutive quarter--is New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., in which 25.2 percent of all homes sold during the quarter were affordable to those earning the area's median income of $67,400. The other least affordable major metro areas includes San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.; Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; and Honolulu.

By REALTOR® Magazine Daily News

30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.15 percent this week, dropping from last week’s 4.32 percent average. The previous record low for 30-year rates was set on Nov. 11, 2010, when rates reached 4.17 percent. For comparison sake, in 2000, 30-year mortgage rates averaged more than 8 percent and just five years ago they averaged 6.5 percent.

15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.36 percent, dropping from last week’s 3.50 percent. Last year at this time, the 15-year fixed rate averaged 3.90 percent. 

5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.08 percent, dropping from last week’s 3.13 percent. Last year at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.56 percent. 

1-year ARM: averaged 2.86 percent this week, dropping from last week’s 2.89 percent. A year ago, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.53 percent. 

"Not surprising, many home owners took advantage of this low mortgage rate environment and have already refinanced their loans,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist of Freddie Mac. “The refinance share of applications averaged nearly 70 percent of all mortgage activity in the first half of this year, according to our survey. In addition, an increasing share of refinancing borrowers chose to shorten their loan terms during the second quarter.”

Source: “Mortgage Rates Lowest in Over 50 Years,” Freddie Mac (Aug. 18, 2011)

About 2.34 million homes were listed for sale on the multiple-listing service by the end of June, the lowest level for that time of year since at least 2007, according to Realtor.com. What’s more, some inventory levels even reached their lowest levels since the housing crisis began five years ago, which has prompted some markets to even say their facing a shortage of homes on the market. 

While a drop in inventories can often signal more demand -- and ultimately a boost to home prices -- some analysts aren’t so sure this signals a complete turnaround for the real estate market quite yet. 

“While sales are picking up in some cities, analysts say the sharp decline in inventory also reflects the slow pace at which banks are processing foreclosures,” The Wall Street Journal reports. (The number of homes in foreclosure -- a backlog of 2.1 million -- is near a high.) Also, some sellers are taking their homes off the market due to low offers and waiting until they put it back on the market. 

In its analysis, The Wall Street Journal found that of the 28 major metro areas evaluated inventory levels had dropped in all 28 -- except for three. What’s more, they found that inventories had dropped by double digits in 16 of those markets during the second quarter when compared to a year ago. For example, inventories dropped in Miami by 43 percent from a year ago; 30 percent in Washington, D.C.; and more than 20 percent in cities like Charlotte, N.C., Seattle, and San Francisco. 

"We're in a shortage situation," Brett Barry, a real estate professional in Phoenix, told The Wall Street Journal. Phoenix has a four-month supply of homes listed for sale at its current pace. "It's a very artificial, 'Twilight Zone' kind of feeling, because we know there's a lot of homes out there."

Source: “Home Listings Fall But Woes Persist,” The Wall Street Journal (Aug. 3, 2011)