Yahoo! Real Estate came up with a list of 10 locations in the US that are best for settling down. Read on to learn more.

1. Charlottesville, VA – the city that provides a very relaxing environment. Each place in this area is accessible either by foot or bike. You are sure to get plenty of fresh air and clean water in this locality. Plus, you get to enjoy a pleasant weather for the whole year.

2. Santa Fe, NM – the area that attracts artistic types. It houses more than 250 art galleries. This city, though considered as the prime choice of the affluents, still has a host of affordable properties.

3. San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, CA – offers a tranquil environment and a pleasant weather for almost a year. Plenty of jobs abound in this city.

4. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, CA – famous for its lavish estates. It is the city of choice for those who have the capability to purchase luxurious properties. Good for retirees and the financially-abled.

5. Honolulu, HI – better known as the prime vacation spot. This city is now emerging as a good to place to invest your homes in and have an easy-going and laid-back lifestyle.

6. Ann Arbor, MI – home to the prime educational institution, University of Michigan. It is where locales are highly educated and are less likely to be unemployed.

7. Atlanta, GA – the largest city in the list. This city is gaining popularity among the younger crowd who are looking for urban excitement and homes that are easy on the budget.

8. Asheville, NC – a city that is located at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. It is home to affordable housing and low cost of living.

9. Reno, NV – has recently experience an increase in its population. The absence of income tax in this city lures many to establish residence here.

10. Corvallis, OR – Oregon State University’s locality and home to several young singles. It is also where Hewlett-Packard is headquartered. The presence of the University and HP accounts for the growing number of intellectuals and professionals in this city.

WASHINGTON – Sales of previously owned homes nudged up in November, but that didn’t improve the broader picture of a feeble housing market racked by record-high foreclosures and harder-to-get credit.

The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses rose 0.4 percent in November from October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units. Even with the small increase, the pace of sales was still the second-lowest on record going back to 1999. The lowest pace — 4.98 million — was registered in October.

“There’s little reason to pop open any champagne corks,” said Michael Larson, a real-estate analyst at Weiss Research Inc.

Read more: msnbc.msn.com

Two critical indicators of the nation’s housing market is getting worse in recent months, ratcheting up pressure on guidelines makers for lawsuit to curtail the growing housing predicament and its expanding influence on the nation’s financial system. Together with the most recent difficulty signals are the number of homes entering foreclosure. In its evaluation, it rose to the maximum level on record in the last quarter of 2007. In the meantime, homeowners’ divide up the equity in their homes fell to a post-World War II low. The unsolicited disparity provides severe evidence of how declining home prices are weighing on consumers.  

WASHINGTON — The property value of U.S. homes will fall by $1.2 trillion, and “at least” 1.4 million homeowners will lose their properties to foreclosure in 2008, according to a study released Tuesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Council for the New American City.

The study, prepared by forecasting firm Global Insight Inc., predicts a widespread and deep economic impact from ongoing housing market problems, which many expect to stretch through next year.

Global Insight predicted that the economy would grow at a 1.9% rate in 2008, “a full percentage point lower than would have been the case without the mortgage crisis.” It also said U.S. gross domestic product growth would be $166 billion lower next year because of mortgage market problems, and that consumer spending would fall to 2% growth. The study also found that home price declines would average 7% in 2008, though it would be much higher — 16% — in California.

Local tax revenue is expected to be hit hard by falling home values. In California, property tax revenues are expected to have fallen by $2.96 billion last year, the study said. In Florida, property taxes revenues could fall by $589 million.

There have already been a record number of homeowners entering the foreclosure process this year, and many have warned the problems will continue through 2008. One major reason for this is subprime adjustable-rate mortgages, many of which began with low teaser rates but grow into much higher monthly requirements after several years. A high concentration of these loans are expected to become more expensive next year, and both the banking industry and government leaders are trying to find ways to address it.

The states where housing prices are expected to fall the most – such as California – are also the same places where housing prices jumped the most during the recent housing boom. Global Insight said the mortgage market’s economic impact could be “significantly contained” if investors and loan servicers agree to new payment terms with borrowers struggling to afford monthly payments.

In its study, Global insight predicted the real estate crisis of 2007 and 2008 would “go down on the record books,” but said it wouldn’t ultimately “bring the economy grinding to a halt.”

“Indeed, we expect job growth in 2008 to be 0.85% and GDP growth to be 1.9%,” the study said. “In 2009, those figures will be 1.2% and 2.9%, respectively. In the end, the economy will not come off the rails, and we may actually have learned something.”

San Francisco i sknown to rank fifth in the US as a location for real estate development and investment, according to a national study released in San Francisco. The cty lost to New York City, which was considered to be the most desirable metropolitan area for investments in development and real estate, according to the 2008 Emerging Trends study. This is an annual survey of real estate industry professionals put out by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the nonprofit Urban Land Institute. Rank as higher than San Francisco on the annual list was Seattle.

Factors that made San Francisco attratctive are access to airports and ports, the importance placed on transit oriented development and its 24/7 status, global-pathway city, according to expertsat the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Conference.

The realtors forecast for 2008 sees a worsening scenario. This is for the sales of existing homes in the U.S. They are foressen to decline to a five-year low in 2007.

The ninth-straight downwardly revised monthly forecast from the National Association of Realtors calls for U.S. existing home sales to fall 12.7 percent this year to 5.66 million, down from 6.48 million last year. Last month, it was predicted a 10.8% drp cmpared to that month a year ago.

It is expected that sales in 2007 would be the lowest since 2002. At that time sales hit 5.63 million. On a better light, the realtor’s group predicted that sales will rise slightly next year to 5.69 million. This is however down from the prediction of 6.12 million last month.

Summary of Home Sales Pace by the National Association of Realtors

Sales of existing home sales in September dropped another 1.2%, a whopping 10% overall drop since end of August.

The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million homes is the lowest seen by the National Association of Realtors since they began tracking the combined sales of single-family units + condos in 1999.

The largest drop in home sales in October (versus sales in September) was seen in the West which fell 4.4%. Sales dropped 1.7% in the Midwest and remained flat in the Northeast and South.

Consistent with last month’s report, an annual comparison is even worse. The West is down over 33%, South almost 20%, Midwest close to 17% and the Northeast down 12.6%. Nationally, the overall annual sales pace is down 20.7% and those figures are seasonally adjusted.

Home sellers were in the driver’s seat and the real estate agents were courting them – most often at bargain commission rates. This was during the housing boom. But now, the bubble has burst–the tables have turned the other way.

In 1991, 6.1% was the average commission rate, according Steve Murray, of Real Trends, a company that tracks the brokerage industry. In 2001, the rate inched down to 5.4%, and by the end of 2005, it stood at 5.02%.

With the competition of discounts and the web-based brokerages, industry insiders projected further decline. In early 2006 a drop into the 4% range was expected within 5 years.But when home sellers found themselves with houses sitting on the market, they became increasingly amenable to paying higher commissions. Real Trends reports the average commission reversed its course and climbed to 5.18 percent in 2006, and it looks like it’s going to end 2007 with another rise.

Take your pick? A house will be best for growing families because of the space availabillity. You are not constrained in how you want to build, remodel, refinish or even expand your house. You can have all the rooms you want, and you have the freedom to fix your landscaping. The disadvantage here, though, is that you might only be able to acquire a home in the suburbs, as places near urban areas tend to be very expensive.

A condo is best for young professionals or starting couples. You don’t usually have to worry about facilities and amenities, since condominium management usually offer these as part of the package. But the disadvantage is that you don’t really own real estate per se, but only a share of the land. Also, you may not have the flexibility to fix your unit as you please.

Yet after the agreement is signed and unforeseen events are met, there are many particular and information that needs to be taken care of prior to calling your house a home. These days, there are agencies that can help you with the details out of your hands and everything will run smoothly as possible. Services such as mortgage financing, home insurance, title insurance, and other services with regard to home buying, can be handled by these agencies. They can also get you a mortgage approval as long as all documents are presented in accordance. On top of this, these agencies can make things easier the moving-in process.