From ABC News: Senate Dems Not Sure They Can Get Enough Votes to Reconfirm Bernanke.
… ABC News has learned that the Senate Democratic leadership isn’t sure there are enough votes to re-confirm Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Bernanke’s term expires on Jan. 31.
[Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.], Sen. Jim [...]

From today’s Boston Herald: Film celebrates long history of Hub department store. A one-hour documentary about the original Filene’s Basement in Boston’s Downtown Crossing will premiere this spring. More than five years in the making, the film recounts the now-closed Basement’s history and stories of its workers and shoppers – including, “60 Minutes” newsman [...]

The following are sale prices per square foot for three luxury condo developments.
The Clarendon – $1,063.00
45 Province St – $1,008.00
The W – $807.00

Would you like to see what Gail Huff looked like back in the ’80’s? Click on the music video below.

File Under: Hot real estate

The Massachusetts jobless rate jumped to 9.4 percent in December. Employers slashed more than 8,000 jobs from company payrolls.
One word: Ugh.
File under: Ugh.

The number of foreclosures initiated in Massachusetts jumped 28.1 percent in 2009 to 27,928 from 21,804 in 2008 but was 5.5 percent below the level in 2007, according to the latest report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
The number of completed foreclosures, meanwhile, declined 25.4 percent to 9,269 last year from 12,430 [...]

Did you know …. The average time it takes to get a home loan processes is about eight weeks now – two weeks more than it used to be, according to the National Association of Realtors.

With experts spending January analyzing Obama’s performance during his first year in office and of course last night’s election, Zillow decided to study how the value of the White House is holding up.
Zillow first gave the White House a Zestimate in January 2009 as the Obama family was preparing to take residence. At that [...]

From David Streitfeld at the NY Times: F.H.A. to Raise Standards for Mortgage Insurance
The Federal Housing Administration … is expected to announce on Wednesday that it is tightening standards.
Borrowers who get an F.H.A.-insured loan will soon have to pay a higher initial insurance premium. The new premium will be 2.25 percent of the value [...]

Many renters across the country are ringing in the New Year with a new apartment. According to a national survey conducted by Apartments.com, more than 95 percent of renters said they are planning a move in 2010.
Many renters are also moving earlier this year, searching for better deals and nicer apartments in more desirable [...]