Property Owner

John O’Brien is a Register of Deeds based in Salem, Massachusetts. Instead of burning witches, OBrien believes we should investigate the people who created the notes and documents that have now destabilized the entire property records system. He also believes those who are guilty of criminal conduct should go to jail and not merely face fines.

The Massachusetts official is turning over nearly 32,000 documents to state prosecutors on the grounds that they may be improper. A

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U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes in August, evidence that the housing market remains depressed.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders began work on a seasonally adjusted 571,000 homes last month, a 5 percent decline from July and a three-month low. That’s less than half the 1.2 million that economists say is consistent with healthy housing markets.

Single-family homes, which represent roughly two-thirds of home construction, fell 1.4 percent. Apartment building plunged 12.4 percent.

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Mortgage availability appears to have been considerably higher in June, as pending home sales improved from the month before, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The associations Pending Home Sales Index indicates a rise of 2.4 percent from May. By months end, the national PHSI was 90.9 nearly 20 percent higher than the same month in 2010.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, stated the numbers for June are solid, especially considering pending home sales increased in May as well.

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“The Hungarian capital city Budapest has been named as number one on a ranking of the top 20 places in Europe to invest in property. The chart, by the Global Property Guide, was reported by the UK’s Daily Telegraph and quoted by Bulgarian television station bTV on January 4 2012.” 04.01.2012