C21AGVoices

Today, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-to-1 to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged, in its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.

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The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from a scheduled 1-day meeting today, its second of the year. The FOMC has held the Fed Funds Rate in a target range of 0.000-0.250 percent since December 16, 2008, and the voting members of the Fed are expected to vote “no change” again today.

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Home maintenance is an ongoing project. There’s always something to do around the house, or something to fix. The problem is, you may not have the time, or the skills, to get it done yourself. In this 4-minute piece from The Today Show on NBC, you’ll see some projects are quite simple.

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In November, Congress extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program to include a subset of “move-up” buyers — homeowners that have owned and lived in their home for 5 of the last 8 years. The credit ranges up to $8,000 per buyer. There’s now just 7 weeks left to take advantage. To be eligible, home buyers must be under contract for a new home no later than April 30, 2010, and must be closed no later than June 30, 2010.

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Fewer homes went under contract in January as the housing market continues to limp through the winter months. According to the National Association of Realtors®, the Pending Home Sales Index fell to its lowest level in 3 quarters this January. By contrast, in October 2009, the index had touched a 3-year high.

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Publishing on a 2-month lag, the Federal Home Finance Agency said home prices fell by 1.6 percent nationally in December. And that’s an average, of course. Some regions performed well in December as compared to November, others didn’t.

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Using data compiled in December, Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday. The report shows home prices down just 2.5% on an annual basis, a figure much lower than the 8.7% annual drop reported after Q3.

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In the two-minute video, you’ll learn how to replace an air filter from start-to-finish. There’s no need for tools and no need for experience — the job is about as basic as home maintenance jobs come.

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Because of how frequently bank rules are changing, it can be hard for laypersons to distinguish between mortgage fact and fiction of what’s coming next. Recently, we saw this with respect to FHA home loans.

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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. The real story is something different.

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