Buyers in the United States paid a final sale price of 2.8% or $5,823 less than the last listing price during January, up from a median discount of 2.7% in December and 2.6% in December.

The biggest discounts continued to be found in Florida, although buyers in several New York City-area metros also found relatively large discounts during January.

However, sellers continued to do well in severalmarket, with most buyers in places like Southern and Northern California, paying more than the last listing price of homes sold in January.

Fewer for-sale homes experienced price reductions in January 2010 than in December, with nearly one in five of homes for sale on Zillow experiencing at least one price cut as of the end of January.

Several factors are driving the trend, industry experts say, including government pressure on banks to modify loans and keep people in their homes.

Allowing borrowers to stay in their homes helps protect the bank’s investment as it negotiates with the homeowner, said a spokesman for a major lender. “If the person’s in the property, there’s less chance for vandalism, and they’re probably maintaining the house, he said. Economists say the situation wo’t last forever, but in the meantime the “amnesty” may allow at least some homeowners to regain their financial footing and avoid eviction.

For some reason, banks are being more lenient with homeowners who are behind on their loans. Whether it’s a strategy to try and slow down the volume of foreclosures or simply a matter of the banks being able to keepup with volume is something that banks only know for sure.

Lenders say the trend reflects their efforts to work with borrowers to modify loans to avoid foreclosure.

Here are 5 sensible tips to manage your credit card:

1. Maintain prompt payment status with your credit card company.   Demonstrating that you can responsibly meet your current credit obligations is the number one behavior that will impact your standing with the credit card company and your credit score.
2. Pay down high balances to improve credit card utilization.  This will show that you can responsibly manage your credit limit, minimizing the chance of higher tiers of interest rates or reductions in credit limit.
3. Maintain activity on your credit card account. By using the revolving credit lines that you need or want to keep and promptly paying on them, you can help avoid cancellation of those credit card accounts.  Additionally, some credit card companies are introducing inactivity fees.
4. Avoid fees through responsible spending habits. Credit card providers will likely look to recoup revenue by charging fees for extra services.
5. New regulations do not apply to corporate or small business cards. This means some small business owners might consider using personal cards for business expenses because of fee and rate limitations.  However, these owners should remain cautious because their personal credit scores could suffer in the event of missed payments of defaults.

Manage and protect your credit to increase your purchasing power when buying a new home in Cardiff, Encinitas, Carlsbad, or Vista.

The HOI shoed that 70,8% of all new and existing homes sold in the final quarter of 2009 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,000, slightly higher than the previous quarter and near the record-high 72.5% set during the first quarter of 2009.  Affordability during the final quarter of the year was up from 62.4% during the fourth quarter of 2008.

“Favorable mortgage rates and sliding home prices that have now started to stabilize nationally have both contributed to a record year for housing affordability in 2009, said NAHB Chairman Bog Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, MI. “With interest rates still hovering a low levels and the economy beginning to rebound, the federal housing tax credit will encourage even more first-time and repeat home buyers to enter the market and help further stabilize housing and the economy by creating new jobs, stimulating home sales, and reducing foreclosures.”

Survey respondents cited financial drivers as the number one reason why home buyers or sellers are moving into a house with other generations of their family. Other reasons cited were health care issues or a strong family bond. “With two or three generations living under one roof, families often experience more flexible schedules, quality time with one another, and can better juggle childcare and eldercare.

Communicating with family members and consulting with real estate professionals is also important. “Talk to everyone involved and determine how comfortable the family members are about sharing bathrooms, office space, or common areas.”

Here are some helpful hints if you are thinking about buying a multi-generational home:

• If you are a seller with a granny flat or additional spaces on your propety that could accommodate a family, be sure to highlight that when you market your house.
• Buyers should make a list of their exact needs. You may just want an extra bedroom or two, or you may require areas with a separate kitchen, entrance, or a larger garage.
• Extended families purchasing a home together should consider signing a writeen contract outlining everything from finances to chores and childcare. Each family should assess their situation individually and find a plan that works best for them.

According to a report by Zillow.com, the overall negative equity rate among U. S. homeowners remained flat in the fourth quarter at 21.4 percent. This report, combined with other housing factors and studies, may indicate the reduction in home equity is shifting.

“The overaraching sense is that the loan modification process has not worked that well,” said Bert Ely, an independent banking consultant.

Still, the program is expected to show better progress when data from January is released after a strong push by Treasury Department officials to get banks to make more of the modifications permanent. For example, Bank of America, said recently it had increased the number of permanent loan modifications to 12,700 in January from 3,200 in December, 2009. B of A also said that an additional 13,700 permanent modifications were in their final stage. But that’s a drop in the bucket considering B of A holds about 1 million loans that are at least 60 days delinquent.

Trial loan modifications have kept many of these loans outof foreclosure, but by the end of this year, 2.4 million borrowers are expected to lose their homes. That would be up from 2.1 million foreclosures and short sales last year.

A report last week by Moody’s Investor Services called the Abama administration loan modification program’s impact “underwhelming.” Officials noted that not all homeowners are eligible; the program is only for owner-occupied homes and excludes a variety of loans, including jumbo loans. And the administration continues to make changes, including a requirement added last month requuiring homeowners to document their income before a trial modification is granted.

The program continues to draw criticism. Banks have complained they’ve had trouble getting homeowners to provide the necessary documents. Frustrated homeowners have complained of bureaucratic runarounds from their lenders. And Federal watchdog agencies have criticized the program. The final verdict is out.

This means that 64 percent of California households could afford to buy an entry-level home, the same percentage as in the third quarter of 2009, and above the revised 61 percent figure for the fourth quarter of 2008.

The median price for an entry-level home in the state was $257,940; the estimated monthly payment, including taxes and insurance was $1470; and the minimum household income needed to purchases a home at that payment was $44,100, the report said.

Last year, the government rescued the mortgage sector by pumping more than $1 trillion into home loans. Now the government has effective control of the housing market, either owning or guaranteeing an estimated 9 out of 10 new mortgages. So pressure is building on the Obama administration to scale back a variety of stimulus efforts, including help with these mortgages.

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke talked only vaguely about when the central bank might act, sprinkling his remakrs with phrases such as “in due course” and “at some point.”

The plan to scale back support carries an inherent risk for the housing market. A pullback could stall the very housing recovery that the government has worked so hard to jump-start.”We understand that the stimulus can’t continue forever, but at the same time, trying to get the housingn market back on track is key to a broader economic recovery,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

The Fed plans to end a $1.25 trillion mortgage-bond-purchase program that has helped keep mortgage interest rates near a record-low 5%. The Fed has been buying virtually all of the mortgage bonds offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, replacinigt private investors such as pension funds and mutual funds that have shied away since the subprime kmortgage crisis. That exit is expected to push up rates.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, predicts the end of the Fed mortgage-bond program could push rates up by roughly .5%. Even a moderate rise could push potential buyers out of the market. Higher rates could force many others to recalculate where to live or what to purchase.

This news is one more reason why buyers should consider buying in the next few months while interest rates are still low.

“January foreclosure numbers are exhibiting a pattern very similar to a year ago: a double-digit percentage jump in December foreclosure activity followed by a 10% drop in January,” said James J. Saccacio, CEO of Realty Trac. “If history repeats itself, we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the loan modification program or the short sale alternatives work.”

Foreclosure activity decreased by double-digit percentages from the previous month in both California and Florida, and the two states registered nearly identical foreclosure rates — one in every 187 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s highest were Idaho, Michigan, Illinois, Oregon, and Georgia.