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More U.S. homeowners fell behind on mortgage payments last month, driving the number of homes facing foreclosure up 65 percent versus the same month last year and contributing to a deepening slide in home values, a research company said Tuesday.
Median home prices fell in two-thirds of the cities surveyed during the first three months of this year while sales declined in 46 states compared to a year ago, according to the latest report highlighting the depth of the nation's housing woes.
Walter Molony (muh-LOH'-nee) of the National Association of Realtors says some home buyers are being hit with a higher mortgages.
Walter Molony (muh-LOH'-nee) of the National Association of Realtors says it's tough when mortgaging 417-thousand dollars can be 1 to 2 percent higher than a conventional loan.
Walter Molony (muh-LOH'-nee) of the National Association of Realtors says median homes prices have dropped unexpectedly in some cities.
Walter Molony (muh-LOH'-nee) of the National Association of Realtors says mortgages should become more affordable the second half of this year, which could affect housing prices.
Broad damage in the mortgage industry was in full view Monday as a number of companies posted dismal first-quarter earnings, but there were also some hope that the worst of the housing crisis is over.
Home interiors are lightening up. It has less to do with spare spaces than the hues of wood furnishings that these days often are left unstained.
Juan Carlos Arcila-Duque has a simple goal: ``I want to be the Latin Ralph Lauren.'' Colombian by birth, American by savvy and ambition, the Miami Beach/New York interior designer loaded a truck with props and two photographers and traveled through South America for a month in a search for just the right houses to decorate. From that trip came his first book, Latin Style (Thomas Nelson, $24.95).
Steven Mellini sells ''furniture for the bath.'' His contemporary vanities are designed in Italy under the brand name Priele, crafted in hardwoods in Thailand, and topped with tempered glass sinks from Germany.
It's warm, inviting and cheerful. What's not to love about yellow? Designers say -- somewhat surprisingly, considering how widely it is used -- that yellow can be a tricky color on a wall. ''Yellow is the hardest color to get right, without question,'' says New York designer Alexa Hampton. ``As mellow a yellow you think you select, it's always much louder than you think it will be.''
A major legal brawl is breaking out over how homes are appraised, at what cost, and by whom. The outcome could directly affect the price you pay for your next piece of real estate, and the amount of mortgage money you can obtain.
Back during the boom years, when people would camp overnight to buy into a new community, the model home lost some of its impact as a selling tool. Some builders did not even decorate their models. Others used the models only to market their upgrades. Now that the pace of sales has slowed, however, builders and interior designers say the model home has become more important than ever in marketing an entire community.
Haggling over prices is expected at flea markets, yard sales and auto lots. But my sister, Debra Patterson, negotiated a sweet deal for kitchen chairs at a department store.
