Valerie Fitzgerald's (valeriefitzgerald) Blog

Conditions in the U.S. housing sector improved a bit more than expected in April, as home prices in 20 major cities rose 3.8% on a year-over-year basis, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price survey. They rose 2.4% year-over-year in March. Home prices in the 20-city index als...

Kendra Todd, host of My House Is Worth What?, tells you how to set your home apart and get the maximum price for your property. Liven Up the Landscaping Not only does good landscaping give you the highest return on your money, but it also can literally transform the exterior look and feel of your...

In an interview with Better TV, Valerie talks about the importance in finding creative solutions to business and personal challenges. "When you start being creative things start transforming in your business, personal and physical worlds and the process gets you on the right path," says Valerie....

In an interview on The Creating Wealth Show, Matthew Montagu-Pollock, the head of Global Property Guide, discussed his observations of the current state of the world’s real estate markets. From Australia to South America, he outlines what investors should be paying attention to in order to formu...

With mortgage rates near record lows, homeowners are applying to refinance their loans at the highest rate in seven months, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. said Wednesday. The volume of refinancings jumped 17% last week as the average contract rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage sank to 4.80% from 4.83%...

Even though the home buyer tax credit expired on April 30, 2010 and won’t be renewed, there may never be a better time to buy a home than today, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Many outstanding opportunities still exist for home buyers, but they may not be around fo...

The Obama administration recently announced that its program to prevent foreclosures has continued to make slow but steady progress, with the number of homeowners who have received permanently modified mortgages up about 13% in April 2010. The 295,348 permanent modifications amount to about a qua...

Changes taking effect June 1 are part of Fannie Mae’s ‘loan quality initiative’ to cut down on slipshod underwriting and fraud by borrowers. If you’re thinking about applying for a home mortgage this year, here’s some important news: Beginning June 1, your lender is likely to order a second full...

RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, has released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for April 2010, which shows that foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 333,837 properties in Ap...

Home values in most U.S. markets continued to decline in the first quarter of 2010, as the Zillow Home Value Index fell 3.8 percent year-over-year, and 1 percent quarter-over-quarter, to $183,700. However, home values in several large California markets show signs of having reached a bottom, acco...