Memphis' Blog: National Real Estate

Sales of existing homes rose in January by the largest amount in two years, raising hopes that the worst of the severe slump in housing may be coming to an end. Median home prices, however, fell for a sixth straight month.

The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of previously owned homes rose by 3 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 3.3 percent advance in January 2005, a time when housing was roaring toward the peak of its five-year boom.

This is hopefully a sign of the bottoming out of the "slump".  I believe we still have a glut in the Memphis new homes inventory, which has a good and bad side to it for the short term. If you are a buyer, you have plenty of choices and in some cases higher than normal…

Memphis has a very high percentage of HUD loans as compared to the rest of the nation, so this news is a very welcomed one.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will not seek a zero-down payment option as part of its Federal Housing Administration reform package, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson has told a congressional panel. "We will remove from the legislation the zero down payment," Secretary Jackson told House appropriators. The HUD secretary noted that there is resistance in the Senate to the zero-down option, and he has agreed to maintain a minimum down payment. "Whether it is 1% down or 2% down, there should be something paid down to give the people incentives to make sure they understand what it takes to be a homeowner," Mr. Jackson…

Zillow,com announced that they were going to allow people and or REALTORS to upload pictures and indicate of a particular house is for sale.

"Company founders Richard Barton and Lloyd Frink say they can't predict how many people will use the feature, but they are clear about one thing: adding real estate listings doesn't mean that Zillow is moving into the brokerage business. "

Well isn't that a relief. A 57 million dollar company that specializes in dooping the public in to believing that they offer some sort of product worth utilizing; isn't going to get in to the brokerage business.

"With its well-known founders and $57 million in venture capital, Zillow has managed to capture a place in the spotlight. Zillow has also drawn its share of critics, who…