Real Estate = Big Money (Photo credit: thinkpanama)

A Quarterly Market Update; the Reality of Real Estate

The major statistics for the real estate market must be updated periodically. The March figures are available, so this is a good time to look at recent home sales.

The monthly data relating to real estate can be misleading. We amass the figures from January to March and compare these numbers against last year. The real estate market varies by location; hence we examine five key Maryland Counties.

They include Real Estate Sales in:

Phil Town on CNBC's The Millionaire Inside (Photo credit: Phil Town)

How Dealing With Rejection Helped Barbara Corcoran

Barbara Ann Corcoran is a highly successful investor, consultant, and businesswoman. She is famous for being a shark investor on the ABC show Shark Tank.

Throughout most of her life, Barbara Corcoran felt that she has been most shaped for her business endeavors not by her successes, but by her failures and her rejections. Everybody fails, but she stresses that the important part of failure is not letting it affect you in a negative way. It is the staying down part that will hurt you the most, not the failure itself. It is important to get back on your feet again and prepare to go after the next potential client, instead of sulking on the failure and letting it ruin your outlook.

Analysis Of The State Of The Real Estate Market With Zillow

Zillow's strategy for online real estate market domination

All the stakeholders from different sectors of the economy including bankers, reporters, government officials, think tankers, lawmakers and other sundry wonks met in downtown Washington at the Ronald Reagan Building to brainstorm ways to reform the housing finance system.

English: Chart of the components of United States public and private debt since 1945 as a fraction of GDP. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

U.S. Households Continue To Increase Net Worth

The Federal Reserve releases its "Financial Accounts of the United States" report every quarter. In simple terms, it gauges the net worth of U.S. households and organizations not seeking profits. According to the report, net worth of this segment rose 1.3 trillion dollar in the second quarter. Home prices and rising stocks explain this much needed growth.

Stillwind Home for Sale in SW Gainesville (Photo credit: ChrisBohn)

Existing Home Sales Rise July 2013

A National Association of Realtors (NAR) report released yesterday (21st August, 2013) says that existing home sales rose up to 6.5% in the month of July, a clear indication that housing recovers to its highest level in nearly 4 years.

According to the association, homes/houses sold at a 5.39 million seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), surprisingly surpassing the forecast of economists which stood at a 1.15 million sales space. The latest existing home sales rate was up 17.1% from the same month in 2012 and the highest since November, 2009. 

Half million dollar house in Salinas, California under foreclosure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3 Real Estate Scams And How To Avoid Them

One of the attendees during the May AARP conference shared her experience on how she had been conned by a fake company posing as a state affiliated housing agency. The victim was left at least 5 figures poorer after coughing up a whooping ten thousand dollars to the fraudsters. Well, this is a common experience shared by many people who fall prey to these criminals.

These scams have become so popular and so sophisticated that even though consumers are aware of them, they just have no idea how to avoid them. The three most common scams include loan modification scams, rental scams and workshop scams.

Looking southwest across 42nd Street at door area of New York Daily News building (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jason Sheftell - Daily News Real Estate Reporter Dies Aged Forty Six

Jason Sheftell was a well known Daily News Real Estate reporter. The forty six year old was greatly admired by his work colleagues and he was a highly respected reporter. The Sheftell family were expecting to see him at a pre-arranged family gathering that was held over the weekend, Jason failed to appear and concerned family members soon contacted staff at the Daily News. The Daily News was also concerned about Sheftell and they asked one of his colleagues to call in on him. Prior to this an old college friend who was a key holder had called to check on Jason Sheftell but was unable to rouse him. When the reporter arrived at the Manhattan apartment he was met by Jason's college friend Kyle but sadly Jason had passed away.

Freddie Mac (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mortgage Rates Rising, But Still Remain Low

The average U.S. 30-year mortgage hit 3.91% last week. This is  the highest percentage for a long term fixed mortgage since March of 2012 according to Freddie Mac, one of the nation's largest mortgage buyers.

The average 15-year loan is now above 3% for the first time since May of 2012, rising from 2.98% to 3.03% this week. Adjustable rate mortgage rates are also on the rise, with a one-year ARM loan average moving from 2.54% to 2.58%. The rate on a five-year ARM sits at 2.74%, up from 2.66%.

Piha (Photo credit: ljw)

Respected Business Owner Morris Piha Dies

Morris Piha, the chairman and founder of Seattle real-estate firm, Morris Piha Real Estate Services, has died at the age of 79, following a brief fight with cancer. His career spanned 48 years. During that time, he obtained hundreds of Northwest properties.

Airbnb logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Airbnb Has Trouble In The Big Apple

Airbnb, a company that specializes in finding short-term lodging for travelers all over the world, has received a major set-back in New York City.  This month, a New York City judge ruled that one landlord was guilty of running an illegal hotel because his tenant rented out his bedroom for three days to a foreign visitor.