With the unofficial end of summer three weeks away, time is running out to finish this year’s outdoor, around-the-home projects. You can handle them professionally through Angie’s List, or you can make it a DIY.

From NBC’s The Today Show, this

Foreclosure-tracker RealtyTrac reports that the number of foreclosures nationwide rose 7 percent on a month-to-month basis last month.

However, 3 states dominated the foreclosure list, tallying more foreclosures between them than the rest of the country combined.

California : 30.0 percent Florida : 15.7 percent Arizona : [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.

It also reiterated plans to support the mortgage market to the tune of $1.5 trillion.

In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. [...]

As the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day weekend is popular vacation time for American families.

And this year, with home sales on the rise and mortgage rates relatively low, early-September figures to be a popular closing date, too.

These points may appear unrelated, but [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee kicks off a two-day meeting this morning.

It’s one of 8 scheduled meetings the FOMC holds annually.

The FOMC purpose is to discuss the nation’s economic health and, as appropriate, makes new policy that either stimulates [...]

If you’re looking to add invisible shelves in your home or workplace, you can either buy them on Amazon.com for $14 a piece, or you can build them yourself with a just a few simple tools.

In this 3-minute video, life-help website VideoJug [...]

This morning’s jobs report is doing a number on mortgage rates, putting another dent in home affordability nationwide.

Despite the slightly flat Unemployment Rate, the government’s July Non-Farm Payrolls report reinforced the notion that the recession may be ending soon, if it hasn’t already.

Just 247,000 jobs [...]

At least one thing is back to normal in the mortgage markets — it’s no longer cheaper to go with a fixed rate mortgage than an ARM.

As reported by Freddie Mac, a conforming 5-year ARM is priced a half-percent lower than a comparable 30-year fixed.

Earlier this year, the pricing was reversed.

It’s uncommon [...]

The number of homes under contract to sell rose in June for the fifth straight month.

It’s the Pending Home Sales Index’s longest winning streak since 2003 and another piece of evidence that the housing market may be rebounding.

The supply of

Where does the money go?

If you’re like most U.S. consumers, more than half of it goes to housing and transportation costs.

According to the government’s most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey, spending patterns are little changed from years prior.

More money is spent on entertainment [...]