Jeffrey Samuels's Blog

Regardless of your hometown's climate, outdoor gas grill cooking can be a four-season endeavor. Just remembe to keep your grill clean. According to Weber's annual GrillWatch Survey, less than 40% of grill owners clean their equipment with any bit of frequency, and 6 percent admit they've never cl...

America is stuffed with world-class "big cities"; New York, San Francisco and Chicago make for three great examples. But beyond the biggest cities, there are some wonderful small towns, too. Smithsonian.com highlights 20 of them on its website. Focusing on cities with 25,000 residents or fewer, t...

In March, for the second straight month, home resales slipped nationwide. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, March 2012 Existing Home Sales fell to 4.48 million units on a seasonally-adjusted annualized basis -- a 3 percent drop from February. An "existing home" is a home that's ...

According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings fell to 199,000 in March 2012, a 17 percent decrease from March 2011. Last month marks the first time since July 2007 that foreclosure filings numbered less than 200,000 on a monthly basis -- a span of nearly 5 years. The gen...

Tuesday, the government released its March 2012 New Residential Construction report.  The report is made up of three sections, each related to a phase of the "new home" market. The report's first part is Building Permits; the second is Housing Starts; the third is Housing Completions. Of the thre...

For the first time in 3 months, homebuilder confidence has slipped.  As measured by the National Association of Homebuilders, the Housing Market Index dropped three notches in April to a reading of 25. The report measures homebuilder confidence in the newly-built, single-family housing market.  W...

April 22 is Earth Day, a day to raise awareness about, and to celebrate, the Earth's natural environment. It's also a day for people to do something good for the planet. There are lots of ways to help the environment, including by reducing your net electricity usage, by conserving fresh water sup...

After a brief surge north of 4 percent last month, mortgage rates have settled down, near their lowest levels of all-time.   According to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, for applicants willing to pay 0.7 discount points plus a complete set of closing costs, the average 30-ye...

The typical U.S. taxpayer will receive roughly $3,000 in federal income tax refunds this year -- an average of $250 per month. So, what would you do with an extra $250 monthly? This segment from NBC's The Today Show offers some advice.  Whether you've already filed your annual taxes for 2011, fil...

Looking for a great place to raise a family? Forbes Magazine has a list that may help you. Titled "The Best Cities For Raising A Family", Forbes has compiled and analyzed data from America's 100 largest metropolitan areas, accounting for seven lifestyle factors including cost of living, commuting...