Bob's Coto Blog

Home values fell again in January, according to the Federal Home Finance Agency's Home Price Index. Values were reported down 0.6 percent, on average. We say "on average" because the Home Price Index is a national report. It doesn't capture the essence of a local market , or even a city market. ...

Gov. Schwarzenegger signs new homebuyer tax credit Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a new bill providing up to $10,000 in tax credits for both new-home buyers and for first-time buyers of existing homes. An earlier round of state tax credits offered last year, were for new-home purchases onl...

The Average Household Will Get $2,800 In Tax Refunds. Will You?   April 15 is Tax Day and the IRS estimates that the average U.S. household will receive a $2,800 tax refund this year.  If you're among the Americans expecting a refund, this 4-minute piece from NBC's The Today Show may be helpful. ...

O.C. housing more affordable than you think Although Orange County’s housing is less affordable than the Inland Empire’s, the gap isn’t as great when you take transportation costs into account, a new study released Wednesday shows. The study, by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technolog...

The California legislature on Monday passed AB 183, providing $200 million for home buyer tax credits. The Governor is expected to sign the bill into law this week. C.A.R. supported this important legislation since its inception.  Part of a package of four bills passed at the request of the Gover...

Orange County Market Report – Demand Springs Forward. Here is the latest market report from my friend Steven Thomas, of Altera Real Estate: Orange County is taking “Spring Forward” to a whole new level with an increase in demand for the first time in six weeks. Demand, the number of new pending s...

Today, Bank of America announced that it will introduce “principal forgiveness” which will look to reduce loan balances of qualifying distressed homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages or subprime loans in an effort to make their payments more affordable. While smaller banks have already began ...

Homeowners defaulting on mortgages today may be surprised to learn years from now that they still owe thousands of dollars—and a collection agency is coming after them to get it. That’s because lenders have been quietly selling second mortgages and home equity lines left unpaid after foreclosures...

CNNMoney.com recently published its 2010 forecast and projections for home prices in the country's largest metro markets.  Listed as "Top 25" and also comprehensively by state, CNNMoney.com's home price forecasts puts Santa Rosa, California at the top of 2010's home appreciation list and Hanford,...

Mortgage markets closed unchanged last week, but that's not say mortgage rates were calm. Monday through Wednesday, rates improved steadily before a swift, late-week sell-off unwound the gains. Mortgage rates have been very low for a very long time -- against the expectations of most market exper...