Foreclosure is a hot topic among the press lately. It’s hard to turn on the television or open up a newspaper without seeing a story about it.

But what’s most interesting about foreclosures is that they appear to be concentrated in just a few parts of the country.

According to the

For the 4th consecutive year, the government has set the conforming mortgage loan size limit at $417,000.

A conforming mortgage is one that, quite literally, conforms to the mortgage guidelines set forth by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The 2009 conforming loan limits, as released by the government, are:

1-unit properties : [...]

If the amount of air that leaked from a typical home’s gaps and cracks was measured, it would equal the amount of air that leaves through an open window.

This is why so many Home & Garden experts recommend a recaulking of your home prior to the Winter — a solid caulk job [...]

On the first Friday of every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report.

More commonly, it’s called the “jobs report” and the October’s data is trending with the rest of 2008.

After shedding another 240,000 jobs last month, the economy has now put 1.2 million Americans out of work this [...]

The interest rate against which adjustable-rate mortgages change is falling — evidence that the global banking system is starting to stabilize.

This is good news for U.S. housing markets.

On any adjustable-rate mortgage, the initial “starter rate” remains fixed for some period of time, and then adjusts according to some pre-determined rules.

For a conforming [...]

The Federal Reserve confirmed what most of us already knew — getting qualified for a “prime mortgage” is increasingly more difficult.

In a quartely survey of 84 banks, 75 percent of respondant banks tightened mortgage guidelines over the last 3 months for the most qualified of home loan applicants.

“Prime” is a [...]

More than a handful would-be home buyers stayed on the sidelines this year, waiting for Election Day to pass.

The prevailing thought was that once the new President-Elect was identified, credit markets will systemically unfreeze and housing markets will return to normal.

If history is a guide, this is an unlikely scenario.

Election Day [...]

When a home is listed for sale, fresh flowers in various rooms can add life and color to the property, increasing the home’s marketability. And courtesy of 5-Minute Life, here are some tips to make those flowers last longer.

Dip flower stems in boiling water before vasing them Allow vase [...]