Melissa Bayles's (melissabayles) Blog

Conforming and FHA mortgage rates in California have improved over the last 10 days, but that could all change this Friday with the release of February's Non-Farm Payrolls report. Non-Farm Payrolls is the official name of the government's monthly jobs report and, given the fragile state of the U....

According to the the National Association of Realtors®, "distressed homes" represented nearly 2 of every fifth home sold in January 2010.  Clearly, real estate investors are taking advantage of good deals on cheap property.  But there's risk involved. This NBC Today Show interview first ran in M...

The winter months have not been kind to home sales. After plunging 17 percent in December, Existing Home Sales fell by an additional 7 percent in January, accordin...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visualizing a home in different colors can take a good eye and strong imagination -- especially when you're house-hunting and the home's effects are of someone else. Yet, we wonder: What would the bedroom look like in blue? How would the kitchen look in yellow? What if the foyer wall was accented...

Earlier this week, the private-sector Case-Shiller Index showed home prices slightly lower between November and December.  Thursday, the public-sector Home Price ...

You can't get your mortgage rates from the newspaper. Last week proved it.  Again. Friday morning, headlines in California and around the country read that mortgage rates were down 0.04 percent, on average, since the week prior. A sampling of said headlines includes: US Mortgage Rates Drop For 2...

Replacing a home's heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) air filter is one way to keep the unit's motor running right.  It's an oft-forgotten part of keeping a well-run home. And, it's simple, too. In the two-minute video above, you'll learn how to replace an air filter from start-to-...

Sometimes, headlines for housing can be misleading and this week gave us a terrific example. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department released its Housing Starts data for January 2010. The data showed starts at a 6-month high. A “Housing Start” is a privately-owned home on which construction has st...

When you’re thinking about selling your home and you’re discouraged about doing so because of the prices… Check out this video For more information and a FREE consultation please contact The Real Estate Geeks at 714-272-5369