There is positive activity in the real estate market. How much of it is is due to the mad rush to claim the first time buyers tax credit (since expanded) and how much of it is real growth is difficult to say.

Quoted: Listings of single-family homes and condominiums declined an average 2.82% across 27 major US metropolitan markets in October, according to data compiled by Web-based real estate brokerage ZipRealty (ZIPR: 4.07 -0.25%). The 593,794 total homes for sale in the 27 markets in October 2009 are down from 611,026 in September and represent an inventory 28.65% lower than that in October 2008.

Quoted: The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, which helped home sales rebound this year, was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. The legislation extends it to homes that are under contract by April 30, 2010, and creates a new $6,500 tax credit for owners of existing homes who buy a new principal residence. To take advantage of this credit, buyers must have lived in their old house for at least five of the past eight years.

Quoted: Pending sales of single-family homes and condominiums in King County jumped more than 70 percent in October compared with last year as buyers raced to purchase homes before losing a federal tax credit.

Quoted: sAgainst that backdrop, the Fed kept the target range for its bank lending rate at zero to 0.25 percent. And it made no major changes to a program to help drive down mortgage rates.

The number of people who can actually benefit from this, however, is pretty small.

Quoted: Thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will soon have the option of renting their homes from Fannie Mae, under a policy announced Thursday. The government-controlled company, through its new "Deed for Lease" program, will allow borrowers to transfer ownership to Fannie Mae and sign a one-year lease, with month-to-month extensions after that.

Quoted: “We have been projecting a ‘W’ shaped recovery for some time, and we are becoming even more convinced that we are right,” the firm said. “The shape of the second leg down is almost completely dependent on the level of government intervention that will take place.”

All rumors so far, but there's talk of support for an extended home buyer tax credit that will extend benefits to move-up buyers and higher-income earners as well.

Home sales have increased overall, but sales of new homes nationwide dropped last month. One big reason is selection and availability. We're seeing builders move from selling completed homes or partially finished ones to a business model of doing more build-to-order properties. With the end of the year coming and the end of the first-time buyers credit with it, buyers cannot capitalize on the perks of buying now if there is no new house to buy.

A good example locally would be Renton, which has for years been one of the fastest growing cities for new housing starts. A buyer could easily find 75-100 completed or near-completion homes to look at 2 years ago. Right now in Northern Renton, there are now only a handful of new, ready or near-ready to occupy homes available for sale. The lots sit empty, awaiting pre-sale buyers to claim them.

Quoted: Sales of single family homes fell 3.6 percent from August levels, and were down 7.8 percent from September of 2008, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The drop in prices in the area has definitely slowed. In some areas, we're even seeing prices increase a bit (even among new construction). We hope these are signs that the market is trying to get itself back on solid ground.

Quoted: However, Seattle home prices were relatively unchanged month-to-month between June and August of this year. The Seattle index dipped 0.1 percent between June and July, only to increase 0.1 percent between July and August, S&P data show. “Broadly speaking, the rate of annual decline