This favorable news about the housing market comes from a monthly survey that National Association of Home Builders has been conducting for more than 20 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index estimates builder perceptions of latest single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next 6 months as "good," "fair" or "poor." The study also queries home builders to rate traffic of likely buyers as "high to very high," "average" or "low to very low." Scores for each factor are then utilized to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over fifty indicates that more home builders consider sales conditions as good than poor.

"Builders are just beginning to see the anticipated effects of the home buyer tax credit on consumer demand," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "Meanwhile, another source of encouragement is the improving employment market, which is key to any sustainable economic or housing recovery. That said, several limiting factors are still weighing down builder expectations, including the large number of foreclosed homes on the market, the lack of available credit for new and existing projects, and inappropriately low appraisals tied to the use of distressed properties as comps."

The Housing Market Index (HMI) for February 2010 has gained two points and is up to 17. This is the highest level of the HMI since November 2009. According to the National Association of Home Builders, "While the Midwest and South each registered two-point gains, to 13 and 19, respectively, the Northeast and West each registered one-point declines, to 19 and 14, respectively." So, it appears that the housing market is doing better and picking up in the Midwest and in the Southern States. The housing markets in the Northeastern and Western States are still actually in a decline.

Course of Construction insurance is an "all risk" policy that typically includes fire, extended coverage, builder's risk, replacement cost, vandalism, and "malicious mischief" coverage. Builders risk insurance is typically covers buildings and other structures while being built, including all of the building materials and the equipment that is to become part of the building or structure. Builders Risk coverage also applies to property while at the job site, off site in storage, and in transit. A Builders Risk policy will typically cover the project owner (the person who owns the building or the person having the building constructed), the architects and engineers, the general contractor and their contractors and subcontractors, the lenders, and the construction contract itself. While the construction contract is not a party, it's an important part of the entire construction project.

When it comes to General Liability insurance, either you or the home builder can provide (pay for) this insurance policy. General Liability insurance is a comprehensive general insurance policy. Typically, the minimum amount is $300,000 for each occurrence. The minimum amount of coverage that is required will be up to the lender. If the home builder provides a policy of General Liability insurance, it may cover up to $1,000,000 of coverage for each occurrence. It's important to ask your home builder in the beginning if they provide the general liability insurance coverage that you need; talk to your lender about the requirements. If the home builder won't provide General Liability insurance, then you may have to pay for a policy.

As someone who is building a home, you need to be aware that there could be potential issues with insurance coverag if you have a separate builders risk insurance policy. You might have a problem getting permanent insurance coverage in place when the builder's risk insurance policy expires. Builders risk insurance policies will typically include a provision that states when the insurance coverage will end, and it will vary by the policy. Make sure that you know exactly when the builders risk insurance policy ends so that your permanent insurance can take effect when necessary.

Worker's Compensation insurance may also be needed. If your home builder owns his own company and has employees who are building the home then worker's compensation (also referred to as "worker's comp") might be required. If the home builder simply outsources or subcontracts the work and doesn't have his own employees then the home builder may not be required to carry Worker's Compensation insurance. If that's the case, then the home builder might need to provide a letter stating that they are not required to carry Worker's Compensation insurance.

The cost of home construction insurance will vary depending on the type of insurance that you'll need, and whether or not the home builder themselves will carry the required insurance policies or not. Whatever the case, the limit of insurance is going to typically be equal to the full value of your home construction project.

Home construction loans are a different type of loan. In fact, home construction loans are what you call "story loans". These are loans that will not be approved by the lender until they "hear your story" about your planned construction of a home. Home construction loans usually require that interest-only payments be made during the construction phase: and they're due upon completion of the home, meaning that the home has its official "certificate of occupancy".

Home construction loans always include variables: so there really is no easy way to determine what the rate will be on a standard basis (like determining the rate of a 30 year fixed mortgage on a home). Construction loans nowadays are going to be variable-rate loans priced by the lender at a spread to the prime rate--or some other short-term interest rate. Once you, the home builder, and the lender agree on a draw schedule, interest will be charged based on the amount of money that the lender has disbursed. Still, another variable that might exist is whether or not you own the land that you're going to build on: if you own the land you are going to build on, then the value of the land might be considered as equity when the lender puts the construction loan together.

There so many variables when it comes to home construction loans, and because of that, no two home construction loans are alike. That's why we aren't going to see home construction loan rates published, or made readily available anytime soon on the internet.

1. What Can $150,000 Buy in Real Estate Around the World
A great article written by David Miller on MatadorLife.com. In 2009, it really is important to realize that the market that you are in right now is not necessarily the same type of real estate market in another location. Here is what you can buy right now (as of March 2009 when this was written) for $150,000.

2. How Maths killed Lehman Brothers
On September 15, 2008 Lehman Brothers collapsed. The writer of this article, Horatio Boedihardjo, details the calculations behind some assumptions that Lehman Brothers' team of maths and physics PhDs had put together. The document in question detailed how Lehman Brothers could make money from the housing market. And as the "housing market started to shrink, the assumptions that the PhDs made began to break down one by one. The investment now became a mistake, resulting in a stunning loss of $613 billion." This article is a must-read for anyone in the real estate industry.

3. Modern Day Ghost Towns from the Mortgage Meltdown
As the housing market declined, it effected a lot of areas of the country. This article details some of what we're experiencing in this rough housing market, towns and areas that have been turned into ghost towns.

4. They shoot real estate agents, don't they?
Want a great taste of reality and what's really going on in the real estate industry? Read this excellent article over at Salon.com. "Desperation has become a familiar face" for some agents.

5. Mint Map: Real Estate By State
Another great blog post tops our list of the best real estate blog posts and articles of 2009. This infographic details the real estate market by State (the United States). This map shows the percent of change in home sales from 2008 to 2009. Some areas of the country are up and some are way down.

6. Five Tips for Buying a Home During a Recession
This is a great overview for anyone thinking of buying a home in 2009. Here's what you need to know about purchasing real estate in 2009. Details information like making sure your financial house is in order and checking out foreclosures.

7. No Homes for Squares
While many of the top articles and blog posts on our list deal with the economy, we thought that adding this wonderful New York Times article deserved to make it into our list. This amazing home in the Aspen, Colorado area is called the "mushroom house".

8. Thirty Beautiful Real Estate Websites
While we're surprised that the Bluegreen Communities website didn't make this list, there are definitely some great looking real estate websites mentioned. If you're in the real estate industry, you may consider redesigning your website (some recommending doing it every year or two). Here's a great place to start if you're looking for ideas.

9. Where U.S. Homes Are Most Overpriced
In a real estate market where everyone is looking for a great deal, we are amazed that there are still overpriced homes out there on the market. Here is an interesting article worth mentioning on our list, places in the United States where homes are the most overpriced. "Homeowners still have an inflated sense of what their properties will fetch. Only 49% of U.S. homeowners believe their home's value has decreased in the past year, whereas prices have plunged for 72% of homes, according to a survey released" by Zillow.com. Find out which cities have the most overpriced homes in this article.

10. Five Great Ways to Use Twitter
What is twitter? Twitter is an easy to use, real-time messaging system for groups and friends. This article, one of our own, details the five best ways to use Twitter, especially if you're in the real estate industry.

Certainly, the year 2009 was full of people talking about the economy, and the real estate industry was not lacking. We are still seeing the effects of the economy on the real estate industry. Things are beginning to change, though, and it's refreshing to be so close to 2010, where we can start off fresh, looking forward to another year. Speaking of 2010, where are we going next year? Let me leave you with my favorite "looking forward" type of blog post.

It’s 2009, brokers. Do you know where your marketing director is?
This blog post published by Marc Davison of 1000WattConsulting.com.  As we look towards 2010 it is imperative to analyze which real estate companies not only survived in 2009, but those that continued to thrive. And review the qualities of these industry-leading companies and their marketing efforts. This blog post identifies 10 things brokers should look for in a marketing director to lead their brands into the new year.

• Borrowers will receive $1,500 in relocation expenses from the US Government.
• Loan Servicers will receive $1,000 from the US Government per transaction that they process.
• 2nd lien holders will receive up to $3,000 of the sale proceeds for releasing their liens.
• 1st lien investors can receive up to $1,000 from the US Government for "signing off" on payments that subordinate lien holders.
• Borrowers must be "fully released" from any and all further liability.

These are the basics of this new "Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program" that provides actual financial incentives for completing short sales or a deed-in-lieu of transaction. 

These new guidelines are ultimately designed to get the process to go faster and include an "amenable resolution" for all of the parties concerned in the transaction, including the loan servicers, lien holders, and the borrowers.

Are you thinking of building on the land that you already own? You may be able to qualify for the first home buyer's tax credit of $8,000 or possibly the $6,500 tax credit for home buyers.

When the home buyer tax credit was signed into law and then extended until April 30, 2010, the United States Government made it possible to receive a tax credit of $8,000 or $6,500. You will receive a tax credit of $8,000 if you are a first time home buyer or $6,500 if you are buying another home. The home you buy must be your primary (principal) residence.

What does this mean for someone who is building a home? If you are building a home that is going to be your principal residence, you can still qualify for the home buyer tax credit.  To be eligible for the home buyer tax credit, a principal residence that is constructed by the home owner is treated by the tax code as having been "purchased" on the date the owner first occupies the house. In this situation, the date of first occupancy must be after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010 (or by June 30, 2010, provided a binding sales contract was in force by April 30, 2010).

The home buyer's tax credit can be applied to new construction by the homeowner on their land. If you were to build right now, it's still possible to take advantage of the home buyer's tax credit. There are a lot of great "build now" programs out there, but none of them compare to the "Build Now" program at The Bridges at Preston Crossings. The Bridges at Preston Crossings has partnered with the city of Gunter Texas, local builders, and area businesses to offer you substantial savings on building your custom home.