Personal Finance Advice and Commentary

The housing market paused in its recovery, but buyer demand is increasing.

Luxury carmakers are enjoying record sales worldwide.

What do you have in mind for August — vacation, school or a plan to take down a relative who didn’t pay back a loan?

Fewer buyers signed contracts to buy homes in June. Will that dampen the optimism of those celebrating the housing rebound?

Homeowners with second mortgages are encountering a roadblock to a short sale.

Welcome to June! If your pantry isn’t stuffed with peaches and plums, you’re missing out on some great summer deals.

Home builder confidence in new, single-family homes soared to its highest point in four years, according to the National Association of Home Builder’s survey. But it’s still well below what’s considered positive. The monthly index on builder sentiment rose 4 points to 29, its highest point since 2007. Fifty is the point between positive and

Do you have  your heart set on a pair of UGG boots for yourself or someone else this season? UGG is notorious for its full price items, never offering any promotions until after season, so it’s usually a holiday budget buster. But holiday markdown mania has finally hit UGG and you can snag a pair

The monthly cost of owning a median-priced home (including taxes and insurance) is lower than the average cost to rent in 12 metro areas, according to a Wall Street Journal survey. In 15 of the 27 cities surveyed, it is still less expensive to rent, but the scale has been tipping in favor of homeownership.

Low mortgage rates and home prices did their job of luring homebuyers, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which showed a rise of 7.7 percent in existing home sales in August. That’s the biggest rise since March and 18.6 percent more than August 2010 sales figures. The increase was a surprise: Economists