Taxpayers are allowed to decide each year whether to take the standard deduction or to itemize their deduction when filing their personal income tax returns. Roughly, 75% of households with more than $75,000 income and most homeowners itemize their deductions.

The 2012 standard deduction, available to all taxpayers, regardless of whether they own a home, is $11,900 for married filing jointly and $5,950 for single taxpayers.

Freddie Mac announced recently that it priced its new .50 percent three-year USD Reference Notes® security due on May 13, 2016. The issue, CUSIP number 3137EADQ9, was priced at 99.994 to yield .502 percent, or 13 basis points more than three-year U.S. Treasury Notes. The issue will settle on Thursday, March 7, 2013.

The new three-year Reference Notes security was offered via a syndicate of dealers headed by BNP Paribas Securities, Corp., Citigroup Global Markets and Nomura Securities International, Inc. An application was made to list the issue on the Euro MTF market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

When you clean your house in the spring, you really want it to be clean. Dirt, dust and germs are banned, and all appliances, floors and walls are scrubbed clean. But is your house really clean, or have you traded dirt and germs for caustic and toxic chemicals found in most conventional cleaning products?

Even some so-called natural cleansers can contain these same or similar nasty ingredients. And you would know this only if the manufacturer practices full disclosure of ingredients on their labels, which is not required on home care products. Think about it - when was the last time you saw a full ingredient listing on your spray cleaner?

The best way to make sure your living space is clean and healthy is to use safe, natural cleaning products you create yourself, using natural and inexpensive ingredients you can pick up at any natural grocery store. It's cost-effective, not difficult and, like the task of spring cleaning itself, it's satisfying and rewarding. You can craft your own, home-spun versions of everything from carpet cleaner to furniture dusting polish - and have the satisfying assurance that you really are keeping your home clean and green.

Private residential construction spending was relatively unchanged for the first month of 2013 due to declines in the volatile remodeling spending category. Nonetheless, total residential construction spending remains near post-2009 highs and has experienced growth in 15 of the last 17 months according to data from the Census Bureau.

Spending on new single-family homes continued to expand, rising 3.6 percent over December’s pace. On a year-over-year basis, the nominal value of spending on new single-family homes has risen over 30 percent. Since bottoming out around the midway point of 2009, construction spending has surged 65 percent. The current NAHB forecast calls for single-family housing starts to grow in 2013, with a slower pace of expansion anticipated during the first quarter of this year.

Clear Capital recently released its Home Data Index(TM) (HDI) Market Report with data through February 2013. Using a broad array of public and proprietary data sources, the HDI Market Report publishes the most granular home data and analysis earlier than nearly any other index provider in the industry.

According to the report, february's home prices are up 6.1 percent over the year, and quarterly price trends at the national and regional levels show moderate improvement over the typically slow winter season. Additionally, 11 (of 15) of the lowest performing major metro markets saw quarterly price trends in February give way to minor losses.

"While February's yearly growth of 6.1 percent is encouraging, let's remember this rate of growth is measured against the market's bottom, which we reported in our March 2012 Market Report," says Dr. Alex Villacorta, director of research and analytics at Clear Capital." Consumer confidence continues to be vital to a broader housing recovery and national quarterly home prices expanding 1.0 percent in the midst of winter is confirmation the recovery has legs. While 1.0 percent is weaker in comparison to more recent rates of quarterly growth, the positive trend continues to support homebuyer confidence and is on par with the new normal.

Low inventory is a relative term depending on how you're comparing it. Would the comparison be to total number of homes on the market last year, homes in a certain price range or homes in a certain area? In some situations, it's a combination of all of those things.

In any given market, inventories will fluctuate based on area and price range. The National Association of REALTORS® considers a balanced market to be six months' supply of homes. If it takes longer than six months to sell, it is thought to be a buyer's market and less than six months, a seller's market. Most buyers and sellers probably feel inventory equilibrium is more like three month's supply of homes.

Inventory has a direct impact on price. During the housing bubble, demand decreased, supply ballooned to four million houses and prices dropped dramatically. Increased inventories due to foreclosures, bank' revised lending practices and builder's lack of new housing starts each contributed to the dramatically lower prices.

We're constantly bombarded by lenders to refinance our mortgage under a variety of programs. The volume of offers can almost make you numb to the rational consideration.

There are common rules of thumbs that homeowners and agents use such as not refinancing more often than every two years or there must be at least 2% savings from your previous mortgage rate may not always be accurate.

Although the economy seems to be transitioning to a slightly stronger growth path, unresolved fiscal policy decisions pose significant headwinds in early 2013, according to Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group. Increased taxes and reduced government spending will keep growth at a subdued pace in the first half of the year before activity picks up in the second half. Net exports also are expected to create a drag as Europe remains in recession and U.S. export growth tries to bounce back from a slowdown in late 2012.

On the more positive side, the improving performance of the housing market is expected to continue through 2013. Boosted by strengthening home prices, which may incite more potential buyers to enter the market, housing should contribute to GDP on a growing basis and help to counteract the fiscal headwinds. Other primary growth drivers will include consumer spending, manufacturing, and business capital investment.

However, consumer spending growth is likely to weaken somewhat in the first half of the year, as tax hikes take a toll on Americans' income. Overall, economic growth is expected to come in at 2.0 percent for all of 2013, in line with average growth since the recovery began more than three years ago, assuming only part of the government sequestration will occur this year.

Though home foreclosures continue to be a challenge in many hard-hit markets, a report released this week by mortgage technology company FNC indicates the ongoing housing recovery should continue for the long haul.

According to FNC’s Foreclosure Market Report, foreclosure prices have bottomed out in recent months and the foreclosure market has stabilized while underlying home values are rising. Foreclosure prices are at a 10-year low (when the sizes of foreclosed homes are factored in).

This trend of a rising underlying market accompanied by stabilizing foreclosure prices is the first encouraging development in the housing recession, according to FNC Senior Research Economist, Dr. Yanling Mayer.