New Home Mortgage : New York, New Orleans, Arizona, Florida & Texas

Want to retire near the water, but without paying premium prices for a home? Residents who buy real estate in these towns see their incomes go the furthest.

Median home price (2007): $124,900
Median family income: $65,744

If the thought of freezing winters gives you the chills, head for North Augusta, where winter temperatures hover at a relatively balmy 40°F, and summers are warm but not scorching. Residents stay healthy by jogging along the Savannah River. Horse-lovers can take in barrel racing and other equestrian competitions at the Hippodrome event complex. Read the rest of this entry »

Many empty-nesters assumed the grass will be greener in a smaller home. Not necessarily. Last year Rick and Suzanne Pepin moved from the four-bedroom 3,400-square-foot house in Minneapolis where they lived with their three (now grown) kids to a luxury condo that’s a third smaller and offers only a Murphy bed for guests. Still, the couple couldn’t be happier. Downsize home downsize expenses

Here’s what a family of four could save annually by moving from a 2,800-square-foot home to a 1,800-square-foot one.

Utilities savings Property tax savings Atlanta $1,217 $983 Boston 1,922 3,962 Chicago 1,281 4,545 Denver 1,179 1,779 Houston 1,755 6,162 L.A. 1,153 4,958 Miami 1,243 9,089 Philadelphia 1,665 1,159 U.S. Avg. $1,300 $2,597

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July decline of 3.2%, reversing prior month gain, shows housing market remains in ‘malaise.’ Pending home sales fell 3.2% in July after gaining in June, according to a real estate group’s report released Tuesday, in the latest in a series of gloomy housing reports.

The Pending Home Sales Index fell to 86.5, after gaining 5.8% in June, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It now stands 6.7% below July 2007’s reading of 92.8. Read the rest of this entry »

Residential Capital LLC - a money losing mortgage lender - borrowed $468 million from a new $750 million credit facility arranged by its parent GMAC LLC. GMAC has been trying to prop up ResCap after defaults soared and credit markets tightened, leading to a $4.35 billion loss at ResCap in 2007. Residential Capital, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of GMAC Financial Services, is a leading real estate finance company, focused primarily on the residential real estate market in the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America and Australia.