Foreclosure-tracker RealtyTrac reports that the number of foreclosures nationwide rose 7 percent on a month-to-month basis last month.

However, 3 states dominated the foreclosure list, tallying more foreclosures between them than the rest of the country combined.

• California : 30.0 percent
• Florida : 15.7 percent
• Arizona : 5.4 percent

On a per-household basis, the states ranked 2, 3 and 4. Only Nevada’s foreclosure rate was higher.

Now, we point out these statistics for two reasons. 

The first is to remind you that foreclosures can be highly local.  For all of the foreclosure-related stories that run in the papers and on TV, defaults make a much larger impact on home values in some areas versus others.

And, second — foreclosures can represent a terrific buying opportunity.  Not every foreclosed home is in pristine condition, but there is a plethora of affordable housing out there, suitable for first-time buyer, move-up buyers and investors, too.

Furthermore, as banks get better at disposing of foreclosed homes, the process of buying one isn’t as challenging as it was, say, 12 months ago. 

As part of its research, RealtyTrac.com catalogues a lot of foreclosed homes and lists them online.  However, you may find it better to start your search with a local real estate agent that knows the foreclosure market.

So long as buying foreclosures is a high-touch process — and it is a high-touch process — you may want to have a human face and agent to guide you through it.

The complete RealtyTrac report is available online.

There are 32 million acres of ”lawn” nationwide — enough to blanket New York in its entirety.  It’s no wonder that lawns have become the most irrigated crop in the country.

It’s estimated that one-third of residential water use is directed to front and back yards, illustrating how watering a lawn can be expensive to both homeowners and to the environment. 

Reducing these costs can be simple, however. All it takes is a working a rain-monitoring device.  Rain monitors are basic hardware that typically install between a lawn’s sprinkler heads and its water source. 

Using a built-in reservoir, the devices collect and measure natural rainfall, using the levels to determine whether the sprinkler system should be engaged on a given day.  With one particular, low-tech model, if the reservoir is holding a half-inch of water or more, the monitor “locks” the sprinkler heads from firing.

If you’ve ever watched your lawn get watered through a rainstorm, you can understand the value of a device like this.

Rain-monitoring devices range in cost from $12 to several hundred dollars with the low-tech model referenced above closer to $12.  Wireless transmitting devices are at the upper-end of the range.

Many lawn care experts recommend 1 inch of water per week.

Once again, the housing market is showing that its worst days may be over.

According to the Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold in June leapt by 11 percent from the month prior.  It stands as the biggest one-month jump in 8 years.

A “new home sale” is when a home in any stage of construction — not yet started, under construction, or already completed — goes under contract, often with a builder.  It’s the opposite of an “existing home sale”.

In addition to surging sales, the monthly supply of new homes fell to its lowest level in 11 years.

Because home values are based on the relative supply and demand for a particular home in a particular area, anytime that demand for homes grows faster than supply, we would expect prices to rise. 

Indeed, that’s what we’ve been seeing.  The combination of low interest rates, seller-paid incentives and a first-time home buyer tax credit is bringing buyers into the market faster than new supply can come online.  It’s one reason why home prices have stopped falling across many parts of the country.

It’s also why home buyers may find it tougher to get “a good deal” in real estate later this year and into 2010.  If demand stays high and supplies fall further, sellers should regain the upper-hand in contract negotiations.

Tuesday — for the first time in a long while — members of the press met the monthly Case-Shiller Index data with enthusiasm.  And why shouldn’t they?  19 of the 20 measured markets showed a slowing pace of home price decline in April.

Here are some of the headlines about the story:

• Case-Shiller Home Prices Decline Only 18% (Business Week)
• Case-Shiller Less Bad (Seeking Alpha)
• Home Prices In 20 Cities Drop Less Than Expected (Bloomberg)

Now, the headlines feel negative, but they’re actually highlighting some key strengths in April’s figures.  For example, nearly half of the Case-Shiller markets posted gains in April and all but one showed month-over-month improvement.   

It’s a step in the right direction but doesn’t mean that housing has turned around for good. 

We have to be careful about how we interpret the Case-Shiller Index because it’s an imperfect housing gauge.  The most obvious Case-Shiller flaw is that it only measures home values in 20 cities nationwide and they’re not even the 20 biggest cities.

Houston, Philadelphia, San Antonio and San Jose are excluded from the report and each ranks among the country’s 10 most populous areas.

That said, the report is still important because the Case-Shiller Index identifies broader housing trends and that helps to shape economic policy.

Not only versus last month but also versus last year, the pace at which home values are falling appears to be getting slower.  This is the third straight month Case-Shiller has reported as such.

Now, three months makes a trend, but the data has to stay strong through the summer months to mark a bona fide turnaround.  If the Case-Shiller Index shows strength for May and June, it could be the signal for which the markets have been waiting.

Americans are feeling better about their budgets right now, raising the possibility of a full economic recovery.

According to a University of Michigan and Reuters, Consumer Sentiment rose for the fifth straight month in June.

Consumer Sentiment is now at its highest levels since September 2008, the month in which Lehman Brothers failed, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were nationalized, and the global financial crisis is believed to have peaked.

Rising confidence levels are important to the economy — and to housing –because a confident consumer is more likely to make the big-ticket purchases that propel the economy forward. 

This includes buying new homes.

That said, the Consumer Sentiment Survey has its flaws. 

For one, the survey’s sample set includes just 500 families.  This is hardly a cross-section of America.  Secondly, when people feel better about their finances, it doesn’t always lead to additional consumer spending — it could lead to more saving.

What people say they’ll do and what they actually do can be two very different things, but if consumer spending does increase in the months ahead, expect home sales to benefit on the willingness of families to “take more chances” and expect mortgage rates to suffer on concerns for inflation.

Most sellers know that their home will sell faster and for more money if it is clean and de-cluttered. 

Many don’t understand, however, the impact that a home’s brightness can have on a buyer’s overall mood, and the their first impression of a home.

A home makes a more favorable impression if it is well lit. 

For a seller, to open blinds and drapes is free and can add value to the home in the eyes of a buyer. 

Electricity isn’t free, of course, but leaving lights on can have similar positive impact. 

Replace all of your lightbulbs, turn on your lights, clean your home’s windows and open the blinds — let your home be viewed in the most favorable “light” possible.

The number of homes under contract to sell soared in April, climbing nearly 7 percent nationwide versus a month ago.

It’s the third straight month in which the Pending Home Sales Index gained and the biggest monthly jump since October 2001, the month prior to the end of the Early 2000s Recession.

A “pending” home sale is one that’s under contract to close, but has yet to do so.

The Pending Home Sales Index is an imperfect statistic because not every home under contract makes it to closing, but the data can a reliable indicator of home buyer activity.

It’s not tough to understand why homes-under-contract are spiking:

1. There’s a $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers
2. Conforming and FHA mortgage rates are hovering near 5 percent
3. Home prices are still soft nationwide

These elements are combining to make homes more affordable than they’ve been in the recent past.  Indeed, in April, the Home Affordability Index posted its second highest reading since 1970.

We can’t know if home prices will rise or fall going forward, but if Pending Home Sales translate into closed home sales, values will be pressured to rise.  This is because each closed transaction takes a home “off the market”, reducing the supply of available properties. 

If demand rises while supplies fall, sellers regain the upper-hand in negotiations and higher prices are the inevitable result.

An estimated 80 percent of all Pending Home Sales close within 2 months.

Most often referred to as just-plain “points”, discount points are an up-front fee charged by a mortgage lender in exchange for a lower mortgage rate. 

The dollar value of one point is one percent on the loan size.  Discount points appear on Good Faith Estimates and HUD-1 Settlement Statements on Line 802.

Historically, each 1 point paid by a borrower lowers an offered interest rate by a quarter-percent.  Since the late-2008, however, this relationship is skewed. 

Depending on market conditions, 1 point paid by a borrower can lower a mortgage rate by up to 0.875 percent.

As an example of how points work, a $200,000 home loan may be offered at 5.500 percent with 0 points.  With 1 discount point paid at closing — $2,000 – the mortgage rate may lower to 5.125 percent. 

In addition to lowering your interest rate, discount points may be tax-deductible, too.  Therefore, be sure to provide your home settlement statements from the previous calendar year to your accountant during Tax Season.

As this week’s signal that homebuyers are returning to the market, both Existing Home Sales and New Homes Sales posted improvement versus month-prior figures this April.

According to the National Association of REALTORS, the number of Existing Home Sales rose by 130,000 units in April.

New Home Sales rose by a modest 1,000 units in April.

As a twist in the story, however, although sales activity is rising, the available housing inventory is rising faster. 

Versus March 2009, there were 300,000 more homes for sale in April — an increase of 9 percent.  In addition, the “housing supply” rose to 10.2 months, its highest level since October.

This is good news for home buyers, of course, because home prices are a product of Supply and Demand.  Depending on local conditions, buyers may find themselves in a position to demand lower sale prices or additional seller concessions.

The housing market has not fully rebounded but it continues to show signs of strength.  With a few more months like March and April, it’s reasonable to assume that homebuyers will lose some of their leverage for contract negotiation.

When that happens, expect home prices to rise.

Conforming mortgage rates rose by 0.625 percent Wednesday.  Yes, you read it right.  Zero-point-six-two-five percent.

The surprise surge in pricing started shortly after 1:00 P.M. ET, then continued all the way until the market’s closing.  It was the sharpest one-day surge in mortgage rates in recent history. Perhaps ever.

For mortgage rate shoppers swept up in the surge, monthly payments are now higher by $29 per $100,000 borrowed.

That’s a significant shift.

For as rare as Wednesday’s events were, though, middle-of-the-day, 0.625 percent rate changes don’t just happen.  Yesterday, the action was the result of a confluence of factors, including:

• Rising oil prices and gas prices
• Optimistic predictions about the end of the recession
• Concerns over the U.S. total debt load
• Fears of longer-term economic inflation

In addition, momentum trading played a role. 

As markets worsened, selling begat more selling, amplifying Wall Street’s total losses.  As mortgage bond prices fell, mortgage rates went up.  By a lot.

Mortgage markets are notoriously fickle and yesterday’s events proved it.  Days like Wednesday are precisely why insiders recommend shopping for mortgage rates in a compressed timeframe.  The faster you finish, the lower the risk of losing low interest rates to new market conditions.