California legislators have been busy enacting several new laws that directly impact the California Housing market for both the homebuyer and homeowners.

The flooding in Atlanta continues to cause major problems and many residents are wondering about their home insurance. Many do not have flood insurance, which is separate from home insurance. Homeowners are panicking and the phone lines to insurance companies are jammed with callers inquiring about their coverage.

U.S. home values fell for the ninth consecutive quarter during the first three months of 2009 leaving one in five American homeowners with negative equity in their homes. The first quarter Zillow Home Value Index fell to $182,378, a decline of 14.2 percent over the same period in 2008. The last time the market was at this level was the first quarter of 2004.

California is working hard to keep homeowners in their homes. The Governor's task force on non-traditional home loans has partnered with Univision to host call-in shows to reach Spanish-speaking homeowners and educate them on how to reduce their foreclosure risk. And Californians can call the HOPE hotline anytime at 888-95-HOPE.

Most residents in fire-prone communities surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest have taken steps to protect their homes from wildland fires, according to a U.S. Forest Service study completed this summer.

What Ben Bernanke is saying is that although the weak dollar is driving costs up and therefore inflation is rising, the Fed does not feel that they can raise the interest rates at this time, all bad news for seniors living on a fixed budget.

In an effort to prevent a repeat of the current mortgage mess, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke says the Fed next week will issue new rules aimed at protecting future home buyers from dubious lending practices.

A group of mostly academic economists who formed what they call the Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee Monday offered its own proposal to assist low-income real estate home buyers threatened with repossession. VOA's Barry Wood reports the group is opposed to the government idea of giving financial help to homeowners in distress.

The good news is the Center for Economic and Policy Research believe the real estate and housing "bubble" will be over by the end of 2008.

Homebuyers would get income tax relief under legislation approved Thursday trying to boost the state's ailing housing market.

Claim Relief on Newly-Revised IRS Form. Homeowners whose mortgage debt was partly or entirely forgiven during 2007 may be able to claim special tax relief by filling out newly-revised Form 982 and attaching it to their 2007 federal income tax return, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

An estimated 240,000 families can avoid foreclosure by refinancing their mortgages using the new FHASecure plan. FHA will allow families with strong credit histories who had been making timely mortgage payments before their loans reset-but are now in default-to qualify for refinancing.