Valerie Fitzgerald's (valeriefitzgerald) Blog

Happy New Year to all my Active Rain Friends. I've enjoyed getting to know you over the last year & you sharing your insights and thoughts. May your 2010 be happy, healthy and prosperous! All my best, Valerie

Entering 2010, many home sellers feel they’re mired in the winter of their discontent, but there are signs the real estate market is on the mend. Sales activity is up, homebuilders are finally moving inventory and values are rising slightly in many American cities. At year-end 2009, mortgage rat...

You may not be aware of the new appraisal requirements for a home purchase and how they've impacted the residential real estate market over the last few months. As a result of the new HVCC federal requirements, when a buyer applies for a loan to purchase a particular property, the appraiser for ...

Join me Thursday, December 3, 2009 – 9 a.m. PST  for Marketing with Newsletters On this call you will learn how I’m using newsletters and how you can: Expand your brand to increase presence. Gain exposure for your properties and business. Connect with your past clients you haven’t spoken to in m...

Two weekly reports show Christmas has arrived early for mortgage borrowers, with rates at or near record lows. In its survey for the week ending today, home-loan buyer Freddie Mac said the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage had dropped to 4.78%, tying a record ...

Home buyers last month snapped up previously owned properties at the fastest pace in more than two years, a Realtors group said Monday. Home resales increased 10.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units in October from a downward-revised pace of 5.54 million in September, acco...

Existing home sales surged in October to the highest level in more than 2-1/2 years, according to a real estate industry report issued Monday. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 10.1% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units, up...

Despite the lowest mortgage rates since May, applications for new home loans continued to taper off, according to a Mortgage Bankers Assn. survey released today. Seasonally adjusted applications for purchase loans decreased 4.7% during the week ending last Friday compared with the week before. I...

Southern California's housing market showed fresh signs of a comeback last month as first-time buyers took advantage of a federal tax credit aimed at keeping the fragile recovery on track.And the tax credit program, which was expanded this month, may be helping boost the all-important move-up mar...

Heart and Sold, written by top selling Los Angeles real estate broker Valerie Fitzgerald, takes you on a journey through the emotional and tangible challenges of regaining one's personal power while building and maintaining a successful business. The book recounts Fitzgerald’s personal journey f...