The Wall Street Journal reported on October 20, 2011 that two US Senators are preparing to introduce a bipartisan bill that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy houses in the U.S. The provision is part of a larger package of immigration measures, co-authored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah), designed to spur more foreign investment in the U.S.…. read more

Here’s the best news you’ve heard in years about Bay Area real estate. ABC TV Channel 7 reported on November 7, that there has been a new report which offers not just a glimmer of hope in California’s housing market, but predicts a roaring comeback over the next six years. We could be poised for a dramatic comeback.

ABC Channel 7 spoke with the California director of the Economic Forecast and he’s predicating a rise in home prices is going to be the convergence of a number of factors. He is suggesting that more jobs, fewer distressed properties, and those historic low interest rates will all play a role in this turnaround.

The same panel of economists who warned the California housing bubble was going to burst is now predicting homes prices are ready to rebound. UCLA economists are predicting a steady climb in the median price of existing California homes. The UCLA Anderson Forecast anticipates an 11.5 percent price jump next year. The forecast calls for another 10 percent increase in 2013 and a median price of nearly $440,000 by 2017 — that would represent a 52 and a half percent increase over today’s prices……

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