For the foreseeable future, a number of tax credits for home energy efficiency improvements will go away at the end of 2011. Here are some credits that apply to improvements made to a taxpayer’s principal residence. Read the full article

For most Americans, the European Debt Crisis is anything but riveting. Sure, Wall Street has been bouncing up and down in response to news about the Euro bailout fund, but Greek sovereign debt is a pretty esoteric subject for almost everyone else. Yet the cover of this week’s Economist magazine advises, “be afraid.” What are they worried about? Read the full article

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) extended higher limits for so-called conforming mortgages, which helped keep mortgage rates lower for home buyers living in high-priced areas of the US, including New England. Barring a change in current law, the conforming mortgage limit extension will run out for loans originated at the end of September. Read the full article

The rules for benefiting from the home office deduction are complex, but this shouldn't discourage taxpayers entitled to the deduction from using it. Read the full article

The Washington Post reported this week that rules being drafted under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will likely have the effect of making it tougher for borrowers to qualify for the lowest mortgage rates available. Read the full article

The Boston Business Journal announced yesterday a new report on Massachusetts Housing “Leaders and Laggards” based on data from the first quarter of 2011. Our Fair City did not make it into the Top Ten, or even the Top Twenty. Read the full article

The Case-Shiller Index, the leading benchmark for housing prices, today reported new data updated through October and the news is less than cheerful. Boston housing prices showed a slight year-over-year decline, and several major housing markets slipped to price levels last experienced in spring of 2009. Read the full article

Melissa Korn at the Wall Street Journal interviewed me last month for the Journal's Personal Finance feature, "The Game Plan," in which readers write in and have their retirement planning strategies reviewed by a professional financial planner. The piece appeared in yesterday's WSJ. Read the full article

Over at “The Big Picture,” money manager and financial writer Barry Ritholtz is known for being a pretty blunt guy. But today he brought to light an article that pretty much destroys what little respect I had left for the National Association of Realtors. Read the full article

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) reports that the number of single-family homes and condominiums placed under agreement in July 2010 was well below last year's level. Read the full article

This past May, sales of new homes plunged to the lowest levels seen since such data began to be recorded in 1963. June and July sales have been tepid. Are home sales likely to remain in a funk for a few years? Some demographers think it’s likely. Read the full article

Late last year, Congress extended an $8,000 tax credit for new homebuyers and created a $6,500 credit for some existing homeowners who sell their old homes and buy new ones. These credits were originally available for houses purchased under contracts signed by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, but new legislation may give a break to those who can’t meet the June 30 deadline. Read the full article

This past summer I wrote about the novel Macroshares trusts released this year that enable investors to speculate on the direction of housing prices. Earlier this week, MacroMarkets announced that instead of terminating in 2014, the trusts will terminate next week. Read the full article

As the end of the year approaches, it’s always a good idea to take see if there are any last-minute moves that make sense for you. Here are four opportunities for tax savings: Read the full article

Yesterday the New England Economic Partnership (NEEP) held its Fall Economic Conference at the Boston Federal Reserve. Regional economists reported that they expect unemployment in New England to peak next year, despite improvements in the national economic outlook. Read the full article

Congress just couldn’t resist the urge to give more money away. Read the full article

Today I found a nice article at Smartmoney.com that summarizes several indicators that can help you make an educated guess as to whether housing prices in an area are likely to go up. Read the full article

As the November 30th deadline for the $8,000 first-time homebuyers credit approaches, members of both the House and the Senate are floating ideas for ways to extend the credit. Read the full article

Yesterday’s second hour of the radio program “On Point” featured the author of “Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon: A Guide to the Best Time to Buy This, Do That, and Go There.” Read the full article

At this time of year it’s a good idea to look for last-minute opportunities to minimize your taxes. Most opportunities require some action before the end of the calendar year; here are several ideas to consider. Read the full article

Home mortgage interest has been a tax-deductible expense on Federal tax returns since 1913. But in a report issued recently, the General Accounting Office (GAO) has recommended that the IRS do a better job of enforcing the rules that apply to the mortgage interest deduction. Read the full article

I can’t say I’m very surprised by this: the IRS is reporting its first prosecution of a fraud scheme involving the new $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit. Read the full article

Last May I attended a talk by Yale economist Robert Shiller in which he indicated that his company, MacroMarkets, was seeking SEC approval for a derivative product tied to home prices. Finally, this week the new “housing ETFs” are available. What are they about, and who should buy them? Read the full article

With the economy still in the doldrums, doing a home renovation could be an excellent idea. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but hear me out. Read the full article

Today I received updated figures from First American CoreLogic, which maintains one of the nation’s largest databases on residential property transactions. Their January results confirm a wide disparity in housing price changes across the U.S. over the last year. In general, the news is not good. Read the full article

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