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After staying put during the economic recession, you might be tempted by stabilizing real estate prices and low mortgage interest rates to sell your house and buy your next place. What you may not realize is how long and complicated the process of buying and selling a home has become. New lending regulations, appraisal procedures and consumer expectations can throw up roadblocks for even the most seasoned flipper. Many homeowners who haven’t sold or bought a home in the past few years will find that many of the old “rules” have changed. Residential real estate experts suggest homeowners become aware of the new rules before listing their current property and searching for a new home.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - New U.S. single-family home sales rose at their fastest pace in five months in September, a government report showed on Wednesday, but sustained price declines indicated the housing market is far from recovery.

"Home sales rose slightly last month, but are still very depressed. There are no real signs of a turnaround for housing yet. Too many unsold existing homes are still on the market so builders are not building new homes."

MICHAEL SHELDON, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, RDM FINANCIAL, WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT:

"It was certainly better than expected... I think housing numbers are generally bouncing along the bottom, and I haven't seen a tremendous amount of improvement recently. In terms of the markets today, housing is really a non-event. All eyes continue to be on Europe."

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I’ll be brief because this article from the Michigan Messenger (hat tip furzy mouse) stands on its own. Readers may recall that some registers of deeds (the county officials responsible for recording mortgage transfers) are less than happy at the way MERS has deprived their governments of income by skipping recording fees for some mortgage transfers (that was the point, after all) and making a mess of title records.

Two counties in MIchigan, Oakland and Ingham, have decided to do something about it. To my knowledge, this is the first litigation of this type.

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The bedrock of the U.S. mortgage market — the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage — may no longer have the same level of bipartisan support in Congress that it once did.
Congressional Democrats remain strongly committed to the 30-year fixed-rate loan, which protects homeowners against a rise in interest rates. But some Republicans, who want to scale back the government's role in the housing market, have growing doubts about the taxpayer-subsidized loan product.

During a Senate Banking Committee hearing Thursday, the panel's top Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby, asked a series of questions that critics of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage have long been focused on.

"What unintended consequences have been created by subsidizing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage? And what has the subsidy of this product already cost the American taxpayer?" Shelby asked. "We need to take a hard look at this product and determine if the preferential pricing resulting from these subsidies truly creates a public good."
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New home sales headed toward a record low annual rate as volatility continues in the housing market, according to Commerce Department data released today.

Sales of new single-family homes rose 5.7% from August levels, but the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 313,000 new home sales would mark the lowest annual level since records began in January 1963.

State by state data for new home sales is not available. The housing market has shown some encouraging signs as it bounces along the bottom.

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Maryland's highest court has overturned the most controversial part of the state's new ground rent law, throwing out the section that takes ownership of ground leases away from owners who fail to register them with the state.

The General Assembly enacted ground rent changes in 2007 after a series of articles in The Baltimore Sun and legislative testimony that depicted people losing their homes for failing to pay a pittance in ground rent. In a 5-2 decision issued Tuesday, the Court of Appeals held that the provision that took away ground leases that were not registered violates state constitutional rights.
   
"It says the failure to register the ground lease cannot be the basis for extinguishing a recorded property right," said Charles Muskin, an attorney who registered about half of the 300 ground leases he inherited from his grandfather.

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Tens of thousands of struggling South Florida homeowners could benefit from proposals unveiled by White House and state court officials.

President Barack Obama on Monday said "we can't wait" for Congress to act and issued orders to make it easier for underwater homeowners to refinance. .

About 48 percent of homeowners with mortgages in Broward County are underwater, according to the research firm CoreLogic. In Palm Beach County 42 percent owe more than their homes are worth. Most of these homeowners haven't been able to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates, CoreLogic reports.

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Louisiana is one of 13 states that doesn't impose transfer taxes on real estate sales, and the state's top real estate industry group wants to keep it that way.

Representatives of the Louisiana REALTORS met with The News-Star's Editorial Board Wednesday to support an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution on the Nov. 19 ballot that would prohibit state or local sales taxes, or transfer taxes, in the future.

"We consider this a proactive step to place it in the constitution and take this off of the table," said Brad Lambert, a lobbyist for the group.

The Louisiana Legislature voted unanimously in June to place the amendment on the ballot.

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