The recovery in the housing market has produced higher prices for single-family homes along with all-time record-high apartment rents. But condominiums have been late to the party. The median sale price for an existing single-family home in the U.S. is now back up to what it was in 2005-2006, before the housing crisis. But the median sale price for an existing condo is still more than $15,000 below its earlier peak.

A home is the largest purchase most families ever make. The vast majority of people wouldn’t hesitate to buy homeowner’s insurance to protect their investment against fire, theft, tornadoes, and so on. Title insurance protects people against losing their home in a different way – through discovering that they don’t actually have all the ownership rights they thought they did. How could such a thing happen? There are a number of ways. For instance, it might

The company behind the FICO credit score – which is used in about 90% of consumer lending decisions – has introduced a pilot program to give “alternative” credit scores to millions of people who don’t currently have one. This could ultimately allow these people to qualify for mortgages that they can’t get today. Some 53 million Americans currently don’t have credit scores. Sometimes this is the result of a negative event such as a bankruptcy or

If you agree to buy or sell a property in a text message, instant message, or tweet, is that a binding contract? Not in California, which just enacted a law saying these types of “ephemeral” messages can’t amount to a contract for a real estate sale unless the parties sign a written agreement afterward.

Most people who sell their home don’t have to pay capital gains tax, even if the value of the home increased substantially while they owned it. But some people do owe tax, so if you’re thinking of selling, it’s important to know whether you can escape the IRS. Here are the rules: As a single person, you can generally exclude up to $250,000 in gain from a home sale. If you’re married and file jointly, you

A recent survey by the National Association of Realtors is challenging stereotypical notions of what’s important to men and women when it comes to buying a home. The survey asked single men, single women and married couples what house features were “very important” in their decisions about what to buy.

If you lease your home to someone for a week or two through Airbnb, HomeAway, FlipKey, or some other short-term rental service, do you have to report the income on your taxes? Maybe! The answer can be complicated. In general, the key question is whether you lease your home in this way for more than 14 days a year. If you do, then you have to report all of your rental income on your federal income

Aside from child custody, the most emotionally charged issue in a divorce is usually who gets to keep the house. For most couples, a house is their most valuable asset, and it has an enormous symbolic value as well. But while couples often fight over who gets the house, keeping the house isn’t always the smartest plan. In some cases, the better route is to jointly sell the property, split the proceeds, and then buy or