John Mulkey, Housing Guru

Home Sales Slide as Inventory Grows According to a report released by the NAR, October existing home sales fell by 2.2%, following an increase of 10% in September. Annualized sales numbers came in near expectations at a rate of 4.43 million. Year-over-year sales are down by more than 25%.   While...

While politicians struggle with how to reduce the deficit, and special interests rush to protect their pet projects and “sacred cows,” let’s take an unemotional look at the mortgage interest deduction.  Though eliminating or modifying the deduction has been considered several times in the past, t...

Free Smart Phones, Free Money and Other Deals for Business   My daughter just posted some great deals on her website, The Frugal Guru, that should be of interest to most people in business. I’m in the market for a smartphone and think I’ve just found an “offer I can’t refuse.”   To check out the ...

Housing Starts Fall to Lowest Level in 18 Months   Construction of new homes fell to an annualized rate of 519,000 in October, well below expectations, indicating a continued lack of confidence by home builders. In addition, October foreclosure inventory rose by 5.2% over that of a year ago. Thes...

Tough economic times demand that we all spend our money more "Frugally," and since I love both saving and sharing money-saving tips and ideas, I have developed--with much help from my daughter--The Frugal Guru.  In keeping with the "Guru" tradition, we'll try to provide some great tips along with...

The issue of earmarks is once again at the forefront, and the opposing sides are gathering their forces and arguments. Most see it as an issue that should have already been decided. You either believe it to be a benefit or see it as a scar on the political process; there’s little gray area in bet...

Banks Add Safeguards to Counter Foreclosure Fraud An article in ProPublica describes how the foreclosure process has resumed, but that banks have added safeguards to counter issues of fraudulent or erroneous processing. However, a number of judges reviewing subsequent foreclosure cases have disag...

While the pundits and economists have begun making projections on when we’ll begin to see home prices increasing, we can forget looking for a housing bottom. Macro projections may make for interesting headlines, but what homeowners want to know is when the price of THEIR home will increase; and t...

Government Moves to Curb Rising Home Prices . . . In China U.S. homeowners can only drool over the seemingly unstoppable rise in home prices in China; and while the thought of spiraling prices may seem attractive, Chinese leaders are concerned over the possibility of creating an asset bubble. Alt...

Payrolls Rise More Than Expected Private sector jobs were added during October at rate more than double expectations. While economists had predicted the addition of 60,000 jobs, the actual number came in at 151,000. However, the unemployment rate remains the same at 9.6%.   Additionally, hourly w...