Real Estate News - December 14, 2011

General News
Flawed real estate appraisals create problems for buyers, sellers, refinancers - "How do you fight back when an appraiser — often from another city and working for a small fee on behalf of a big bank — wrecks your sale, purchase or refinancing with a low-ball valuation?"

30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Down Slightly - the rates remain unusually low

Home Sales Really 20% Less – NAR Changing 5 Years of Home Sales Data - as the author says "heads should roll," but perhaps most disconcerting is the fact that it took five years to catch this.

Real Estate News by the Numbers: Week of December 3 – December 9

Buyer's Tips
Foreclosure buyers often find thieves have gotten there first - "Theft and vandalism plague foreclosure homes and, by extension, mortgage holders."

Pantone Color of the Year: Tangerine Tango - be the first to get your tangerine tango kitchen!

How is Square Footage Measured? You’ll Be Surprised - "An inch is an inch is an inch. Or, so you’d think. But when it comes to measuring the square footage of a property, it’s not quite that simple."