According to Real Estate Professionals and most of the major indices, the beleaguered housing market has finally hit the bottom or is only weeks away from being at the bottom of the market.

The aftermath of the financial crisis is that it torpedoed home values, sent mammoth financial institutions into the poor house, and drove unemployment numbers toward the double digits. The government, for its part, has taken increasingly drastic steps to put the real estate market right again, to mixed effect. From rock bottom interest rates to massive loan modification programs to tax credits to entice first time homebuyers, we’ve seen a lot of effort from Uncle Sam.

The National Association of Realtors' recent survey shows how the foreclosures, low mortgage rates and short sales have impacted the median home prices in the metropolitan areas of the United States. The National Association of Realtors says first-time buyers looking for bargains dominated the market.

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.

Buried within a very interesting WSJ article about a condo investor’s recent woes are some fairly alarming statistics about condo construction loan default and delinquency rates.

Despite already rising mortgage rates 979.7 completed mortgage applications last week, ending May 1st. The number is out today from the Mortgage Banker's Association, which states that this is an increase of two percent in comparison of 960.6 one week ago. What makes this an interesting news is that the applications are steady and slowly growing despite the rising mortgage rates.

New home sales in Southwest Riverside County are beginning to show real life again, specifically, in the French Valley area! Sales activity at MorningStar Ranch has dramatically improved over the past month. Buyer prospects are increasing weekly and new homes are being sold rapidly. What is driving this market change?

I have been in the real estate markets for 16 years now and I find it amazing how much change can be sold to the American citizens through the lack of proper information, the press and our beloved federal government. The new revelation is that appraisals now should be under the control of the lender - a.k.a. the reputable banks because they will look out for the best interest of the consumer or in a real estate transaction the buyer and the seller.

Mortgage rates are falling and home buyers can get loans at historically low levels. But there is the other end of the spectrum, the people who take advantage of the low mortgage rates and refinance their existing home loan.

The most recent Freddie Mac mortgage market survey, released Thursday, showed that 30-year, fixed mortgage rates slipped to 4.80 percent this week, down from 4.82 percent.

Carina Marchese gives some good advise to her clients on what to do and how to navigate in today's mortgage market due to the falling mortgage rates. "Should my clients Float? Should they lock?" asks Carina her her blog giving mortgage advice in Philadelphia region.

While the mortgage rates go up and down and it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the mortgage rates in this volatile market there is one particular type of mortgage that became the focus of our attention: the Jumbo Mortgage. According to the recent survey, released by Bankrate the Jumbo mortgage rates have fallen to a two-year low of 6.52 percent, down from 6.76.