Taking a look over at Bloomberg.com we see Fannie Mae will be seeking 15.3 billion in aid after their 10th straight quarterly loss.  This is coming shortly after the Treasury lifted a $200 billion dollar bail out limit on Christmas Eve and has decided to back them unlimited until 2012.  Smaller rival to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac saw a much smaller negative last quarter and will not be seeking additional aid from the government.  Fannie Mae’s net worth is currently at around negative $15 Billion.

Both sides of the political spectrum have been arguing about how to fix the housing crisis.  Should we continue to fund a company with 10 consecutive quarters of huge losses with tax payer money?  Should the system be totally overhauled?  Should Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other similar institutions be shut down and become a thing of the past?  If so, what will replace them?  How can we bring the same security of home loans and still have funds available for potential home buyers?

Another interesting blog find over at The Wall Street Journal debating on whether on not home buyers should wait until after the April 30th deadline.  I know you’re probably thinking, “Why is that even a question?”  The article mentions some evidence that in the last weeks of the tax credit an increase in demand has been created with home buyers looking to take advantage of the “deal” that is the Tax Credit.  In certain markets this can create inflated home prices as well as bidding wars for certain properties driving the prices up higher than the $8,000 credit you’ll receive.

What do the readers think?  Have you noticed any spikes in prices in certain areas?  Do you think it’s a good idea to wait?

Interesting article on Boston.com reporting that in Massachusetts the average single family home price is almost 10% (9.6%) to $285,000.  Sales volume in Massachusetts is up 11.6%.

Timothy M. Warren Jr., chief executive of the Warren Group had this to say:

“We had surprising gains in January, and that’s good news for the economy and that’s good news for the housing market.  The real wild card is what will happen after mid-year.’’

Some believe the increase in pricing and volume is happening because of the tax credit that will be ending in April, as well as the artificially low interested rates.

Economic analyst will wait until at least midyear to make a more accurate assessment on the market.  Just last week the Fed raised the discounted interest rate from .5% to .75% which was shocking to some, but believed by many to be a step towards normalcy.

What do you think?

Its not all bad news out there……

“Sure, there was a lot of sound (the housing bubble grows) and fury (the bubble pops) in the last decade.  But numbers released this morning show that home prices rose by 46% between January 2000 and December 2009.  That’s way above the rate of inflation.  So odds are if you bought a house at the beginning of the decade and sold it at the end of the decade, you made money.  That’s a big deal, given how many people (who don’t wind up as anecdotes in news stories) buy a house and live in it for 10, or 20, or 30 years. ”

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/02/house_prices_rose_50_in_the_au.html?ft=1&f=93559255