de realtors have told me this.is work was very solid, and now it is looking very shaky. we are 60 years old. if anything goes wrong, we will lose everything that we have. we cannot wait for this. what happens to municipalities when this comes do? we will be reassessed next year and it will have to come down. when you look at the houses. the property taxes are too high, people walking out. i want to hear comments on that. thank you. guest: the market recovery has been predominantly on the lower price loans. on the more upscale homes activity has been very sluggish because the government loans carry higher interest rates that deter people from buying. but one of the elements of property taxes, they have dropped 1/3 from their peak levels. local property tax level increased last year by moderate levels. something is out of whack. some of the assessments need to properly reflect today's market conditions. it puts an additional, large burden on homeowners. host: in terms of activity, take it further. suppose the they su

de realtors have told me this.d, his work was very solid, and now it is looking very shaky. we are 60 years old. if anything goes wrong, we will lose everything that we have. we cannot wait for this. what happens to municipalities when this comes do? we will be reassessed next year and it will have to come down. when you look at the houses. the property taxes are too high, people walking out. i want to hear comments on that. thank you. guest: the market recovery has been predominantly on the lower price loans. on the more upscale homes activity has been very sluggish because the government loans carry higher interest rates that deter people from buying. but one of the elements of property taxes, they have dropped 1/3 from their peak levels. local property tax level increased last year by moderate levels. something is out of whack. some of the assessments need to properly reflect today's market conditions. it puts an additional, large burden on homeowners. host: in terms of activity, take it further. suppose the the

the national association of realtors' pending home sales index rose 1% last month to a reading of 96.6. that marks its ninth advance in the past ten months. in tonight's market focus, a mortgage analyst tells us the biggest threat to those gains. that housing report also pushed oil prices to a two-week high. light sweet crude for march delivery jumped $2.80, or almost 4%, to $77.23 a barrel in new york trading. >> susie: big double-digit january sales gains at ford and general motors, but not toyota. ford sales revved up 25%, thanks to strong fleet sales to government and businesses. the company's market share now stands at about 16%, slightly higher than a year ago. sales at g.m. rose 14%, driven by new crossover vehicles. chrysler was down 8%. and toyota was hurt by the big recall of its popular models because of sticking gas pedals. its sales fell 16%. and toyota's market share is now 14%, the lowest point since 1996. keeping that market share from falling even farther is job one for toyota right now. but that could be tough with critics like u.s. transportation secretary ray lahood

america's realtors reported the number of homes under contract has risen nine of the past ten months.here's a problem. sellers are not getting what they once did. prices are down 23% from their 2006 peak. and many people are living in homes worth less than they paid for them. ben tracy tells us that is raising fears of a new foreclosure crisis as cbs reports: "where america stands." >> everywhere you went you heard "own a home, own a home, own a home, be a homeowner." >> early part of the decade if you could fog a mirror you could get a mortgage. >> everybody was doing it, everybody's moving up, property values going up. >> i wanted my piece of the american dream. >> reporter: that dream is now a nightmare for many of the 75 million americans who own a home. so the housing market report card is ugly. in the past two years, the housing market has lost an estimated $5 trillion as 59 million homes have declined in value. nearly one in four homeowners, 10.7 million households nationwide, are underwater on their mortgages. they owe more than their home is out in worth. the housing market i

. >> reporter: diane, any realtor will tell you winter is a slow season for home sales, but this is more than a winter lull. there are two other explanations for this stallout. first issue, the rush of home sales we saw late la year. remember that $8,000 tax credit the government was offering? it was supposed to run out in november. that drove many people to buy before the deadline, stealing some feature sales from both december and january. the other issue? the terrible weather. report snowfalls in january kept many home buyers in. sales dropped most in the northeast, where the weather was worst. >> the housing market has recovered from the low levels that we saw hit during the worst of the recession. that said, we're still not going anywhere fast. >> reporter: analysts say it's a slam dunk sales will pick up in march and april, for several reasons. the government has extended that home buyer's tax credit until the end of april. mortgage rates are near historic lows, and in many cities, prices continue to fall. >> we're not going to get it more affordable than it is right now, with the

the couple got a house from a realtor saying that a huge tree had fallen on to the home they were just about to move into. >> i was in shock. i was not sure if anything had damaged -- had been damaged inside. there was a lot of damage. >> the three upper the sidewalk, but spare the interior of the house. but spare the interior of the house.

that they're a real tenant and provide that to the lender or their lawyer or the realtor and say look, i know my rights. it's called the protecting tenants at foreclosure act and it's been on the books since may of 2009. >> so if you have two months -- let's say you have two years left on your lease, you can stay for two years. >> that's correct under the law. it's a one page bill. it's not anything complicated. it's not le health care. it's one page. and it's very simple. so we're hopeful that lenders including fannie mae controlled by the federal government, they have one of the worst records that i've seen so far on the bill or on the law and we're hoping -- we're hoping they start following it soon. >> thanks for bringing this to our attention because this would affect everyone in every state, right? >> that's correct. it sure does and we're talking a lot of tenants. >> all right. >> no kidding. >> thanks so much, robert and thanks for bringing our attention tohat one page primer for health care. we've been calling for that a long time, too. somehow they haven't come up with that

the national association of realtors says sales contracts were up 1% in december. that makes the ninth improvement in ten months. >>> the u.s. transportation secretary is blasting toyota as dealers gear up for repairing those gas pedals that stick. ray lahoud says the company was slow to realize safety problems that led to the recall of millions of vehicles. lahoud says toyota was "a little safety deaf" and that federal safety officials needed to "wake them up" to the seriously of the pedal problems. toyota's executive vice president apologized for the issue and said it should have been dealt with sooner. drivers of eight models of toyotas have experienced unwanted acceleration from gas pedals that stick. repair parts are on the way, but analysts wonder what can be done to repair the company's image. >> the image is stuck to toyota for a long time and it's like velc velcro. it will be there for a long period of time. >>> meanwhile, toyota reports its sales were down 8.7% in january compared to january of the previous year. ford says its sales were up 35% and that t

realtors continue to blame a dropoff after the fall surge from the first-time home buyer tax credit.admit, though, it's not a good sign. >>> the fdic may test a principle reduction program for underwater borrowers as long as certain rekwiefrmts are met, only for loans of failed banked seized by the fdic which holds less than 1% of the nation's mortgages. the trial program could be launched later this year. >>> and billionaire hedge fund manager john paulson is betting to land in colorado, arizona. >>> check back with the realty checkup next monday morning at 11:50. until then go to the blog, realtycheck.cnbc.com. >> thank you, diana. >>> and after two weeks, who are the marketing winners and losers from the olympics? cnbc's darren rovell still in vancouver to tell us why. >> reporter: erin, yeah, many of those hyped athletes came through, which is good because the marketing window is so small for them. let's start with the winners. shaun white the snowboard king. $8 million a year. he pulls in. and obviously defends his gold in the halfpipe. that should continue on the marketing fron

now, the national association of realtors chief economist said the underlying trend is for improvementtive. new h year-over-year sales look better. so near term it looks better. betty? >> what about the second half of this year when the first-time home tax credit runs out. >> there's a but, and there always is. it will slow down after it expires. and mortgage rates have been very affordable up to now. but the good news is the supply of homes on the market is falling down. it's now at a seven-month supply compared to what we've seen more like record highs of 11 months which helps home prices to stabilize. the housing market will be in much better standing when the stimulus measure runs out. it's a little bit better on both ends, the tax credit runs out but housing prices are stabilizing compared to what we've seen. >> thank you. >> sure. >>> a check of the top stories after this. i've been thinking... no. you know how... no. so, doc, i've got this friend... [ male announcer ] talking to your doctor about erectile dysfunction isn't easy. actually, doc, there is something i want to talk t

housing market, getting word home sales inched higher at the end of last year, national association of realtorster than half a percent. martha: true! bill: 1%. martha: we'll take it at this point. bill: lower than analysts expected and the index has been on the rise up nine of the past ten months and buyers were going to take advantage of the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit before it expired in november and has been extended to 2010 and there is a measure they take, too, about people getting ready to buy a home and if you are getting ready to buy a home they are measuring that, too, that just crossed the wires now. in a moment here, we are awaiting refresh new answers on the fury buffalo, new york plane crash last year that claimed 50 lives and happened one year ago this month, the ntsb about to reveal a key new report on the horrific accident that started in the cockpit. martha: and critics on both sides of the aisle now, are vocal in saying no to the 9/11 terror trials in new york city, how one senator could put an end to this idea and what that might mean for future terror trials and

>> reporter: with the help of their realtor, the hawns think they've come up with a good selling pricebut she warns them if they don't sell in two months, they certainly have to drop the price. tip number two, don't be lazy when it comes to presentation. >> remember, staging it gets you offers. >> reporter: the less clutter, the bigger the room looks. lose the magnets on the fridge, the excess family photos. on the other hand, tip number three is that some photos are priceless. what are some of the key selling points in a home like this? >> wheyou list a home in the wintertime -- >> reporter: the hawn's agent put together a photo album of the home at various times a year. when the flowers are in bloom and the pool is sparkling. tip four, don't be cheap when it comes to fixes. everything from leaky faucets to squeaky floors need fixing. another plus, modern appliances. and finally, tip number five. be there. though it may feel uncomfortable with strangers walking around your home, no one can sell it like you can. try to make yourself available to buyers and offer details about local sch

and talked to one realtor after another and one lender after another who told me the interesting thing that's happening. with the new appraisal regulations, the appraisals on these houses when they sell at a short sale or foreclosure are coming in at exceedingly low values. but when the people have to get their homeowners insurance to insure the house, they're having to insure the house for more than they paid for it. why? because you can buy houses in a lot of markets in georgia today and around the country for less than it would cost to replace. when i entered the business in the 1960's, cost to replace was the principal way in which you evaluated real estate. it later became comparable sales took over cost to replace. i think it's time we looked at cost to replace becoming the primary mechanism to establish the value for financing purposes and for lending purposes. the short sale situation is another problem. it has taken banks in some cases 10 to 12 months to give somebody an answer on a short sale. a short sale is when you've got a house and you're in default, you can't pay your l

also, the next guest from the national association of realtors. thirdly, and author on his book. >> defense secretary robert gates and animadmirable mike mullen testified. this portion last one hour, 40 minutes. >> good morning. the 2010 quadrennial defense review, and the 2010 ballistic missile defense review. gentlemen, as always we are thankful to you. to your families. for your dedicated service. for the military people at home and in harm's way around the globe, and to their families. your commitment to the welfare of our troops shine through all you do. the american people are grateful. we are grateful and eager to help whenever we can. the fiscal year 2011 budget request includes $549 billion for the base budget, $159 billion for the ongoing two wars. on top of the $708 billion request for 2011 the administration has included the 2010 supplemental request of $33 billion to fund the additional 30,000 troops. to support the policy announced last december. the budget request continues. the defense reforms begun last year to rebalance the cours

guest: we heard about the to realtor republican -- republican factors.epublicans took apart the experts guest today. he pointed out that some are funded by plaintiff attorneys which were funding the studies that showed what was wrong with toyota. i think full disclosure is important in any situation. this is an issue that touches the voter. it is a very personal issue. host: our guest is the senior business correspondent at the "new york times." thanks for being with us. guest: my pleasure. host: we will talk with the british ambassador to nato. here is an update from c-span radio. >> more on today's hearing of the safety of 20 of the vehicles. and oversight committee member spoke earlier saying he wants to see if the ceo of toyota is ready to live up to the promise of reform his company is selling in late as commercial. a california republican says he believes the u.s. government must share responsibility for the problem, accusing the ntsb of being too cozy with the industry. you can hear it live on c-span radio at 11:00 a.m. president obama is expected

. >>> the national association of realtors said that pending home sales rose. credit is giving the market a boost. that is because some over qualified professionals are taking any job they can get. the age of part-time workers like those in fast food and retail increased pushing out some the younger workers who usually man the counters. a labor department showed that the employment rate for 16 to 24 is almost at 19%. for business brief, i'm stan case. >>> coming up, security officials say another terrorism attack on the u.s. is coming. how soon they expect it will oh, no! yeah, oh, no, i got to go. oh, can you make that to-go? these days, nobody has time to get sick, but minute clinic makes it easy to get well. our nurse practitioners can diagnose and write prescriptions for everything from strep throat to sinus infections, with no appointment necessary, so you can feel better in no time. you guys want to go to the park? yeah! yeah! minute clinic -- the medical clinic inside cvs/pharmacy. find one near you at minuteclinic.com. >>> welcome back to fox 45 morning

and getting those jobs back is going to be very difficult. 35% were in construction, real estate, realtorsand brokers, the subprime originators, you know, they were in retail, they're in state and local. those jobs aren't coming back and to posit a vibrant, private economy based upon job destruction that we've experienced, i think, is extreme. >> yeah, and, bill, what percentage -- let me ask larry, what percentage of those who are out of work are not on temporary layoffs? meaning, the lack of an explosive wave of rehiring? >> well, there's no question that the proportion of people who have been laid off and not expect to come back to the same firm is very high. that's -- that's the case that this may be structural in nature. but i would ask bill, if -- if the economy grew 6% to 7% in the fourth quarter and you find 4% reasonable for the first half, you must have a return to good -- good job growth. at least through that point. and you must be saying, which could be very reasonable, that there's a handoff that doesn't work very well, and that after some of the temporary forces dissipa diss

i've been a realtor for 38 years.things that i see that we really need help with, which should have been the first step for our president, was to work on the short sales and foreclosures immediately. we have properties out there that are deteriorating our neighborhoods and also the lenders are waiting six, eight, nine months before they give us an answer when a contract comes in. what do you think we should be able to do with congress to make this a lot more speedy for herb in our country? thank you. >> to start with that. one of the reasons that these markets are slowing down is if everybody assumes they might get better terms if they delay a few more months, there's a tendency for everyone to wait. in some ways if we had stayed out of this whole thing to begin with, bankruptcy and foreclosures in a more orlandoerly way would have cleared these up much earlier than we're seeing now. anything else? what? they said time remaining. we've got time. over here. >> hi. this is a question for whoever wants to take a shot at

the association of realtors reported a 1% increase in home sales.hey may be stabilizing as we head into the springtime buying season. the dow rose 111 points, ending at 10,296. nasdaq at less than 1%. s&p 500 at 1.3%. toyota said sales fell as it froze sales of several key models following the huge recall. >>> the home builder, dr horton posted the first quarterly profits since 2007. that stock was up almost 11%. u.p.s. earned more than $750,000 the first quarter. it's triple what it made last year. it's a good indicator of the overall economy. the results boaster investor confidence overall. we've had a pretty good week. we'll try to keep it up tomorrow. >> thank you. >>> it's been almost two months since susan powell vanished. we're going to talk to jane velez-mitchell about the latest developments in the case, next. >>> breaking news to tell you about. you have been following this story. we are talking about an arrest in the case of missing 8-month-old gabriel johnson. tammy smith, the woman there, wanted to adopt the baby. she's in custody. she

also, a discussion with lawrence yun from the national association of realtors. after that, julie and with this talk about his book. -- julian concerning his book. up next, march from sarah palin, the keynote speaker in nashville at the tea party. later, "newsmakers" with david axelrod on the administration's policy priorities. in an interview with the fox news, sarah palin said she would be willing to run. [applause] >> thank you so much. i am so proud to be an american. thank you so much for being here tonight. do you love your freedom? do you want at your freedom? any of you here serving in uniform pastor present, raise your hand. we will thank you for our freedom. god bless you guys. we salute you and honor you. thank you. i am so proud to be american. thank you. happy birthday, ronald reagan. [applause] well, a special hello to the c- span viewers. you and not be welcome in those healthcare negotiants, but you have an invitation to the tea party. [applause] very good to be here in tennessee to volunteer here. the home of good, country music and southern barb