Fears of an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China along with the prospects for rising interest rates weighed on investor sentiment resulting in significant stock market volatility during the week.  Trade officials in the U.S. and China went back and forth proposing new tariffs on each...

The stock market, although continuing to show significant volatility, reacted favorably to a decision by China to not implement retaliatory tariffs on its imports of U.S. soybeans and commercial aircraft, easing fears of a trade war at least for the time being.  There were also reports that U.S...

Big day today. Finally, at 2:00 am ET the FOMC statement: by 2:15 the 10 yr note rate +2 bp to 2.93%. At 2:30 Fed chair Powell had his news conference.  As expected, the Fed increased the Federal Funds rate by 0.25% to a range between 1.50% and 1.75%. As usual when the FOMC meets markets ...

We won’t say that in recent years the process of finding a good contractor has become easier. Finding a communicative, astute, responsible contractor is still like finding gold. But home repairs still tend to attract con artists. If you know a few things to look for and avoid, however, you may be s...

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2018 COST VS VALUE REPORT

 

House flipping is not for the faint of heart, and with today’s lack of housing inventory, competition is fiercer than ever. Compared to last year, the biggest difference in 2018 is that the increase in buyers might push home values even higher. In this market, finding a buyer usually isn’t the prob...

http://player.cnbc.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&byGuid=7000002237&size=530_298 U.S. home prices increased 6.3 percent compared with December 2016, according to the much-watched S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home prices index.  

The major stock market indexes were able to register a modest move higher this past week due to a late rally on Friday that erased losses recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday when the indexes displayed increased intra-day volatility.  Mid-week, investors were worried over recent market volatility,...

It looks like a no-brainer. Spiff up your house, do a little self-staging (well, box up your figurine collections), throw a sign up in your front yard and save yourself thousands of dollars when selling your home. What the typical FSBO (for sale by owner) seller may not take into account, however, ...

It’s a no-brainer. You can fold laundry to it, play your own music in the background or walk away from it. Then you can come back 55 minutes later and see the “big reveal” of a home that was renovated on a reality real estate TV network. It’s gorgeous, of course, and people are giddy over the resul...

The major stock market indexes experienced a rapid decline with each losing about 5% in volatile trading.  Surprisingly, the bond market also lost ground as investors failed to seek the “safe haven” bonds usually provide when the stock market sells off in such dramatic fashion.  This past ...

It’s not about the updated kitchen. Or the state-of-the-art walk-in shower. Not to say that updating the interior of a home isn’t important. It’s just that because we mostly live inside our homes, updating and beautifying the outside seems to be placed on the back burner.   There are usually tw...

The major stock market indexes were overdue for a pause, and pause they did, by registering their largest weekly declines since 2016.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.1%, the NASDAQ dropped 3.5% and the S&P 500 lost 3.9%.  Bonds did not fare much better with a sharp drop in pri...

There are time-worn real estate adages that never seem to go away. “Location, location, location” is one of them, and it still applies. But what about the one used in every “fix-and-flip,” or “fix-and-occupy” program on HGTV about buying the worst home in the best neighborhood?

For all those experts...

The three major stock market indexes finished higher for the fourth consecutive week and ended Friday with a set of new all-time highs while bond prices finished the week very close to where they ended the prior week.   However, the stock and bond markets were briefly rattled mid-week when Trea...

Anyone visiting a weekend open house knows that most for-sale properties today have been “staged” to show them at their best and most appealing. Some would-be home sellers have wondered whether it might be better to go one step beyond staging and do a remodel of their home to increase its value. Af...

There are always people who seem to find scamming consumers to be a worthwhile career choice. This time, the miscreant is Michael Davenport, former bass player for pop-punk band, The Ataris. Davenport and his alleged co-conspirator, Cynthia Rawlinson, operated a telemarketing boiler room in Santa B...

Economic reports having the greatest potential impact on the financial markets are highlighted in bold:    

   

In June 2017, cybercriminals stole more than $14 million from unsuspecting people. Real estate transactions are especially vulnerable to these wily larcenists. Real estate purchases routinely involve sending large sums of money by wire. This method is convenient, fast, and generally secure. Still, ...