Although it is not overwhelmingly good news, it is a step in the right direction.

According to FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency), U.S. home prices climbed 1.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from December to January.

The East North Central region posted the greatest increase, experiencing a 3.9 percent rise in home prices, while, not shockingly, the Pacific region dropped 0.9 percent, making it the worst performer.   

The FHFA's monthly home price index is calculated using purchase prices of homes backed by mortgages that have been sold or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

On top of this news, just released this morning by the Department of Commerce -- New Home sales numbers climb 4.7% for the month of February, shocking most economists.

Following this news, national homebuilder stock appears to be on the rise for the moment.  Some of the stocks posting respectable gains include:  KB, Pulte and Toll Brothers.

˜Jumbo' Financing Rates to Become More Competitive

Jumbo financing, which has largely been a thing of the past, is making a comeback.

In part, this comeback appears to be due to the announcement that the government will begin buying up ˜toxic assets'.

A number of major lenders are beginning to roll out programs that are specifically focused on loan amounts that exceed Conforming Conventional financing (balances over $417,000, and in High-Cost areas - balances exceeding $730,000).

The lender loan programs look to target the loan amount range of $730,000 min. to $1.5 million max., with mortgage rates in the upper 5% range.

Currently, the jumbo-conforming spread continues to remain high, but with conforming rates so low, it means more reasonable jumbo rates will likely follow, despite being offered at a premium.

As more banks and lenders enter the fold, rates on jumbo loans will likely be significantly pushed down, aiding the luxury-end of the market as well as hard-hit, costly regions of the United States.

This is great news for those home owners that are excluded from the recent release of the governments sponsored ˜Making Home Affordable" plan.