Home-price index hits a new low
The ominous new drop for the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of 20 cities, a key measure that is closely watched by economists, casts further doubt about the future of the housing market’s recovery. The index pushed below its previous bottom hit in April 2009, confirming a much-feared double-dip in home prices.

Market needs higher savings, reduced debt
So I can excuse the editor who wrote this one for the Los Angeles Times on Monday: “Positive signs in an anemic recovery.” This was the lead story on the front page and the headline, while it made me wonder, was followed by a superb subhead: “Consumers are saving more and reducing debt, behavior that could lead to a more sustainable economy.

Ask The Builder
The first thing I want to mention is to make sure you check to see if you’re allowed to install the piping. Some states and towns only allow licensed plumbers to do this work. The reason is public health. If you make mistakes when you plumb, you can get some people seriously ill or even cause death.

IRS not good at handling homeowner tax credit programs
The Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration audited the residential tax credit program, created by Congress to encourage homeowners to install energy-saving equipment and materials in their houses, and found some disturbing oversights.

SMITH
So, what is an Orange County buyer or seller to do? Buyers, if you are trying to hit housing pricing at its absolute rock bottom, don’t. True, there may be a few bucks more in store for you if you wait, but the downside is that you could be wrong and your strategy will backfire.

IRS
Prisoners who were incarcerated for the entire year — and thus not likely to have bought and installed energy-saving equipment — received $343,487 in federal credits. In addition, 100 energy tax credit recipients in the audit turned out to be under 18, too young to execute legally binding contracts for renovations and unlikely to own a home.

Pending home sales see a poor showing in April
The National Assn. of Realtors said Friday that its index for pending home sales, which is based on the number of contracts signed each month, fell 11.6% from March and was down 26.5% from the same month last year. The drop in the index was another indicator that buyers are scarce.

Real Estate Matters
However, in some situations, condominium buildings might look more like townhomes or single-family homes that share common walls but little else. In these types of buildings, the individual condo owners might have more responsibility for repairing roofs or other building elements ordinarily deemed the responsibility of a condo association.