Builders See More Small Signs of Slowly Emerging Recovery

Builders who have been watching for signs of a housing recovery received one more small piece of encouraging news last week from the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index, which found a significant rise in optimism on the housing front among the more than 1,000 U.S. households it surveyed by telephone during two weeks in late June.

The quarterly index reported on July 13 that the percentage of people who think house prices in their area will decrease in the next year dropped to 26% last month, from 37% in March and 47% in December 2008. ...

Help Home Owners Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Home builders and home builders associations can provide a valuable community service and build goodwill by sharing new government resources aimed at helping troubled home owners avoid being taken in by scammers who are looking to make a quick buck.

With the economy in recession and the national unemployment rate reaching 9.5% in June, so-called “foreclosure rescue companies” have been emerging to prey on people who are having trouble paying their mortgages, promising to help stop a foreclosure on their home.

In response to this growing problem, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has produced resources in English and Spanish to help home owners learn to recognize scammers and to let them know where they can obtain free help. ...