Realty Check with Diana Olick

Truly High Manhattan
How do you sell ultra high-end Manhattan real estate? By air of course. And by boat. Preferably with a few models in tow. I mean on the boat. And some expensive Champagne. And a Rolls to shuttle you from condo to helicopter to boat slip.

Federal Housing Stimulus: How Much More?
New reports are rolling around Wall Street and Washington today that the Obama Administration is considering yet another economic stimulus package; this round would be for small businesses. This comes just one week after increased chatter about more government stimulus for housing. But how much has housing stimulus really helped?

Tiger Takes Out a Mortgage for New Mansion
I don't have it on my authority, but it is being reported widely and wildly that newly divorced Tiger Woods took out a $54.5 million mortgage on his Jupiter Island, Florida estate where he is currently building a mansion.

The Home Traffic Report: This One's Ours
Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows that one of my biggest frustrations in covering the housing market is the never-ending, always constant stream of reports. They are often conflicting, usually based on different time frames and almost always nationalized and "normalized" in order to facilitate screaming headlines that yours truly then has to parse. So here's another report.

Home Prices Have Further to Fall
Last week, negative report after negative report was driving nails into the housing market's coffin. Then suddenly today the stock market takes a bounce on one new price report?

Another Home Buyer Tax Credit?
From HUD to the hedge funds, it sounds as if a tax credit to spur home buying is gaining steam yet again.

First Look: Brand New Foreclosure Numbers Reverse MBA Survey's Bright Spots
As long as we think housing is still in deep trouble, nobody's going to make a move.

Time for Homebuilder M&A?
Economic conditions are very tough for homebuilders. Is a wave of mergers coming to this sector?

Home Prices: They're Not Quite What They Seem
"The buyers who left the market in the latest round are typical first-time buyers," says one market watcher, "but people who continue to stay in the market (are) people ... buying higher-priced homes."

In Preparation for July Home Sales, a.k.a. Armageddon
It's been a while since I've sensed quite this much doom among the folks obsessed with housing (one told me simply, "You're going to be very busy!"), but July existing home sales are unquestionably the product of a perfect storm.