According to recent reports, Washington D.C.’s real estate market is “on fire” right now but is it really advisable for real estate investors to take a shot at this hot market? Jeff Brown of BawldGuy.com provides an answer to this question as he shares his honest assessment on D.C.’s housing market in his latest post. He says although properties in the U.S. capital are fetching high selling and rental prices, it doesn’t necessarily mean that investors should just jump right in and start snapping up properties in the area. Why does he say so? Read Jeff’s article to find out.

Despite the growing number of households with underwater mortgages, it seems that when it comes to personal finances homeowners still fare better than those who rent houses. Citing a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com reports that the net worth of homeowners is 41 times bigger than that of renters. He adds that the value of homeowners’ property contributes a large chunk to their overall net worth. Read the rest of Bob’s post to learn more.

Because of a huge drop in home values, more and more households are having underwater mortgages. Citing data from Zillow.com, Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com reveals that the percentage of single-family homes with underwater mortgages jumped from 23.2% to 27% in the fourth quarter of 2010. According to him, a report from Zillow has shown that home values declined by 5.9% during the same period from 2009 and many experts believe that home values will further decline by 5% this year. Check out Bob’s post to read the rest of his story.

Good news for home buyers. It seems that buying properties is more practical than renting houses nowadays. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, Trulia.com CEO Pete Flint has revealed that it is now cheaper to buy than rent homes in 72% of the 50 largest housing markets in the country. According to Flint, the cost of rentals has increased as more and more households are choosing to rent houses. Find out which cities have lots of cheap houses for sale by checking out Bob’s post.

Fiserv, Inc. is fairly confident that home prices will stabilize by the end of the year. According to Cory Boatright of ShortSaleFundamentals.com, the Fortune 500 company predicted that 75% of metro areas will have stable home prices. Because of a slight decline in home prices in the third quarter of 2010 and stabilizing markets in 25% of metro areas, Fiserv believe that such a positive development is feasible by the end of 2011. Read the rest of Cory’s post to learn more.

You might probably have heard of this already but Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has recently revealed that real estate prices are expected to decline further because of distressed properties. According to Cory Boatright of ShortSaleFundamentals.com, S&P said the shadow inventory of distressed homes will impede with the recovery of the housing market. Because the rate of defaults and foreclosures is higher than the rate of home purchases, it would reportedly take a long time before we can see a huge improvement in the housing market. Read on to learn more.

Apparently, home prices will see another major decline this year. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, Altos Research predicted that there will be a new low in the value of residential real estate this year, with home prices decreasing 5% to 10% from 2010 prices. The research firm attributed the decline to increasing inventory and the growing number of distressed properties. Check out Bob’s post to read the rest of his article.

A real estate research company has predicted a rosy 2011 for many real estate markets in the country. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, Veros Real Estate Solutions revealed in its “VeroForecast Strongest and Weakest Markets for 2011” report that 40% of U.S. housing markets are likely to grow this year. Housing markets in cities with population below 250,000 are expected to perform well, the company added. Discover where the five strongest and weakest real estate markets are by reading the rest of Bob’s post now.

Fannie Mae has expressed optimism that the country’s housing market will see an improvement in 2011. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, Doug Duncan, the government-sponsored enterprise’s chief economist, said there will be “modest increases” in home sales this year. Read the rest of Bob’s post and discover what are the possible reasons for the positive outlook are.

If you haven’t bought a house, now is a good time to do so. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, CoreLogic’s Home Price Index declined for the third-straight month. Home prices reportedly fell by 3.93% in October year-on-year. The biggest depreciation of home prices was recorded in Idaho, followed by Alabama, Oregon, Arizona, and Florida. Read the rest of Bob’s post to learn more.

It looks like 2011 will be another rocky year for the housing market. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, Fiserv has predicted a decline in home values next year. Experts at the Brookfield, Wisconsin-based information management systems company revealed that the average value of residential real estate is likely to fall by 7.1% despite the increase in home prices in the first half of 2010. What are the factors that are likely to drag down home values? Read the rest of Bob’s post to find out.

A recent survey has shown that only few Americans believe that the value of their properties will go up in the near future. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, a survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports reveals that only 20% of homeowners are confident that the value of their houses will increase next year while 53% believe home values will remain unchanged. Some 24%, on the other hand, are more pessimistic as they believe that home values will decline further. Check out Bob’s post to learn more.

Latest data showed that prices of residential real estate slid down in the third quarter of the year. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, home prices dropped from an average of $178,200 to $177,900 year-on-year. Despite the price drop, however, the National Association of Realtors pointed out that the decline in home prices is relatively lower as compared to price drops in previous years. Take a look at Bob’s post to read the rest of the story.