SAN FRANCISCO — The median price of a home in California is up from a year ago, sales are rising, and foreclosure resales are declining — all signs that the housing market may be undergoing a sustained recovery, a tracking firm said Thursday.

Existing sales of single-family homes and condominiums increase on Oahu, while prices dip

Existing housing sales rise, prices dip on Oahu

Pending home sales rise for eighth straight month to highest level since December 2006

September pending home sales rise 6.1 percent

Index of pending home sales forecast to remain unchanged in September as demand still robust

Ahead of the Bell: Pending Home Sales

WASHINGTON — An index that tracks signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes is expected to remain unchanged in September after rising for seven straight months, indicating that housing demand remains strong.

Home sales down in Ohio as market strengthens nationwide amid rush to beat tax credit deadline

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s housing market softened in September while home resales nationwide saw their largest monthly increase in 26 years.

Report: late filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s Swedish island home sold to Norwegian business man

STOCKHOLM — Swedish media says a Norwegian businessman has bought late filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s secluded island home for an undisclosed sum.

Investors look past sharp rise in sales of existing homes; Amazon, Microsoft buck slide

NEW YORK — Stock investors are dismissing a big jump in sales of existing homes last month as an aberration.

September home sales up 9.4 percent, beating expectations as tax credit spurs sales

WASHINGTON — Racing to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires, homebuyers pushed sales up last month by the largest amount in more than 26 years.

Home sales forecast to post a 4.9 percent increase for September as tax credit spurs sales

WASHINGTON — With homebuyers rushing to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires, a report Friday is expected to show strong September sales.

Feds sell Bernard Madoff’s Long Island beach home for $9.41M; proceeds will go to investors

NEW YORK — Federal marshals say Bernard Madoff’s Long Island beach house has sold for $9.41 million.

US Senator Hutchison sells home in Washington suburb as her race for Texas governor gears up

AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison may be waffling about when to give up her powerful job.

Tracking firm: September home sales in California rise 1 percent from August

LOS ANGELES — The number of homes sold in California last month ticked up last month from August, as low mortgage rates and eagerness to cash in on a soon-to-expire tax credit fueled activity in a normally sluggish time for home buying, a tracking firm said Thursday.

Luxury Hong Kong apartment sells for whopping $57 million amid talk of property bubble

HONG KONG — It’s a price tag that would make even New Yorkers and Londoners gasp — an outsized luxury apartment sold for nearly $57 million in Hong Kong Wednesday amid growing fears of a real estate bubble.

Numbers tell story of last fall’s financial meltdown, Great Recession

NEW YORK — A year ago this weekend, the Dow Jones industrial average had just finished a slow-motion crash. Over eight days, it fell 2,400 points, or 22 percent, and stood at 8,451.

Lesson learned from home price collapse: Gimme shelter, not a short-term investment

CHICAGO — For all the doom and gloom about the housing market, it still generally pays to own a home.

Meltdown 101: What is a short sale, and how does it help lenders _ and struggling homeowners?

NEW YORK — For a homeowner who needs to sell but has a mortgage balance higher than the property value, one option is something called a “short sale.”

California Realtors see dip in home sales next year, but rising prices

LOS ANGELES — Home sales in California are expected to dip next year, bucking the national trend, as unemployment and the loss of a tax incentive for homebuyers weigh on the country’s largest housing market, a forecast Wednesday showed.

Realtors group sees dip in Calif. home sales next year, but rising prices

LOS ANGELES — The California Association of Realtors is forecasting sales of single-family homes will dip slightly and prices will rise modestly next year.

SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: Sotomayor won’t sell New York apartment in this economy

WASHINGTON — Not even Supreme Court justices are immune from the economy.

Stocks fall further after disappointing report on manufacturing overshadows rise in home sales

NEW YORK — Stocks began the fourth quarter on a down note Thursday, falling sharply amid more signs that the economy’s recovery will be slow and bumpy.

Pending home sales rise for seventh straight month in August to highest level since March 2007

WASHINGTON — Aspiring homebuyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time owners that expires in November, driving up the number of signed sales contracts for the seventh straight month in August.

S&P index shows home prices post third-straight monthly gain in July

NEW YORK — Home prices rose for the third month in a row in July, new data Tuesday showed, more proof a fragile housing recover is underway.

What can $1 million buy? A Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., starter home or a palace in Saginaw, Mich.

A million dollars doesn’t buy you what it once did. In most U.S. neighborhoods, it now gets you a lot more.

US home resales take dip in August, ending 4-month winning streak

WASHINGTON — Four steps forward, one step back.

Home sales, median price up throughout California last month; foreclosure resales down

CityCenter developers offer seller financing to condominium buyers at Vegas Strip development

Web sites offer a chep option for homeowners to sell on their own, but expect some commissions

Firm: Median home price in California rises in October from September

Realtors’ economist sees resale home values, sales rising in 2010

First-time buyer tax credit lifts 3Q home sales in Washington state; price declines slow

Median home prices fell in 80 percent of US metropolitan areas in third quarter of 2009