Mortgage Bankers Association this morning released its weekly survey of tracking the mortgage applications, which shows that due to all time low mortgage rates the number of applications applying for a real estate loan has increased by 5.3 percent for the week ending April 17, 2009. In the meanwhile Mortgage Bankers Association's chief economist Jay Brinkmann tells Marketwatch that mortgage rates are likely to stay low for the remainder of the year.

March seemed to be a good month in quite a few ways, with better weather, longer days and signs that the housing market was starting its slow ascent from the pits of gloom and doom. Last week's news from Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) further backs this up, with its March report showing increasing momentum in the housing market.

If you choose to sell by owner, choosing the right words in your for sale by owner ad is crucial for driving traffic into your home. You can use local newspapers, magazines, free real estate books, websites, Craigslist, etc - the list goes on and on. These 5 for sale by owner ad tips should give you a great start to writing an eye-catching ad, and I have saved the best for sale by owner ad tip for last.

RealtyTrac®, released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the first quarter of 2009, which shows that foreclosure activity was reported on just over 800k properties in the first quarter. This was nearly a 10% increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, and an increase of more than 20% from the same time period in 2008. The sad news is that 1 in every 159 U.S. homes received a foreclosure filing during the first three months of 2009.

First Internet Bank on April 13 announced that it has begun to offer jumbo loans. Jumbo loans are mortgages that exceed conforming limits ($417,000 in most parts of the country and as high as $729,750 in certain markets) and are not guaranteed by government-backed mortgage agencies Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Americans are spending less on luxuries these days. That includes luxury houses. The number of jumbo mortgage originations declined an estimated 70 percent nationwide during 2008. The most recent Affluent Market Tracking Study conducted semi-annually by the American Affluence Research Center, reveals that among luxury consumers, plans to purchase a primary residence of a vacation home have declined to record lows and home remodeling plans are only one-half of what they were a year ago.

The week before the last week we reported the survey results from MBA that the mortgage applications have increased. It seems that the mortgage rates have not fallen enough to sustain the growth in the housing industry as the latest Mortgage Bankers Association survey shows a decline in mortgage applications for the week ending April 10, 2009.

While by and large the country has been besieged by the effects of the economic downturn, Texas real estate has done remarkably well. This should not come as any surprise from a state that has endured practically every kind of adversity possible from wars to natural disasters during its illustrious history.

Century 21 Real Estate's first time home buyer survey shows that there is an increasing demand despite concerns about the economy. 78% of potential first-time home buyers say that now is a good time to buy.

Pulte Homes (PHM) agrees to buy Centex Homes (CTX) in a $1.3B survival deal, thus becoming the largest U.S. home builder and making big waves in the U.S. housing and real estate markets.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 3, 2009. It shows an increase in mortgage applications and mortgage refinance. The four week moving average of the rise in mortgage and refinance applications is already up 13.3 percent.

How close are the mortgage and housing industries to bottoming out? Is the worst yet to come or is the economy already on the way up and out of this mess? The answer, it seems, depends on who you ask.