Consumer Mood Index: Highest since September - Gallup

Gallup's Consumer Mood Index reached its highest point since September of 2008. Read more about the Consumer Mood Index.

 

New Home Tax Credit for California Buyers

California just approved a New Home tax credit of up to $10,000 for home buyers!  That means the new home you've been looking at could now be within your price range if you act quickly - the tax credit is only available until the funding runs out. Learn more about the tax credit!

Tax Credit for first-time Homebuyers

As a first-time buyer, you could qualify for a tax credit of 10% of the price of your new home, to a maximum of $8,000. Read more.

A few key points about this 8,000 tax credit:

• It's designed for most first-time homebuyers who have made a qualified home purchase in 2009.
  
• The credit begins to phase out taxpayers according to their adjusted gross annual income.
• This tax credit is temporary, so if you're thinking about buying a home, it's important to act quickly.

In addition to this tax credit, don't forget about ZipRealty's 20% rebate for our buyer clients!

Win $500! Play "Price Me Now" on ZipRealty.com

How good are you at reading the real estate market? Have you ever wondered what other real estate shoppers thought a house was worth? Do you think that the 'wisdom-of-crowds' thinking can better predict sale prices of homes than other methods?

Come find out the answers to all of these questions AND get a chance to win $500 by playing "Price Me Now". In order to qualify for the $500 monthly prize drawing, all you need to do is to submit price predictions on 20 homes or more during the length of the contest. That's it. As a registered ZipRealty client, you're automatically entered into the drawing after you submit your 20 home price predictions.

After you guess, don't forget to click on "View All Predictions" to see what your fellow home shoppers predicted.

Learn more about the sweepstakes or just continue browsing for-sale homes and submit your price predictions.

Notable Home Reviews

I wanted to share a few notable home reviews we've received over the past few months from our clients:

"Not even worth looking. Only good thing about this house was the new door knob"

"The wonderful size of the back yard is unfortunatly(sic) overtaken with dog land mines."

"THIS HOUSE IS SO RUN DOWN IT SHOULD BE DEMOLISHED!!!!!!"

"Tip: When you are selling and showing your home, clean it!!!"

"It is like walking into a bread factory."

"Nice on the outside not on the inside"

Happy Holidays from ZipRealty!

Whether you're throwing a holiday party or just want to sample something new, these festive holiday cocktails and mocktails are sure to please. 

Thoroughly tested by your friends at ZipRealty (it was a tough job, but someone had to do it!), these recipes are ready for you to enjoy and share. Cheers, and happy holidays from all of us!

What can you buy for less than $100K in the Bay Area?

WSJ.com: Home inventory shrinks in many markets

Using figures from ZipRealty, the Wall Street Journal's latest article says that home inventories shrank by 10% from the same period last year.

Search for Foreclosed Homes

Just a quick reminder that ZipRealty.com allows you to search for foreclosed homes. Full home information, including address, pictures (when available) and other property information is available directly through our site. There are no monthly fees or additional services you need to register for.

As a ZipRealty registered website user, you get direct & instant access to these foreclosed homes.

Follow this link to search for foreclosed homes.

Thanksgiving recipes from our agents!

Check out these Thanksgiving recipes from our ZipAgents across the US!