> Nationally, the median existing-home price

increase for all housing types from February to

March was 4.2 percent, much higher than the typical

1.8 percent seasonal increase between those two

months.

> The National Association of Home Builders

recently announced that half of all U.S. households

(55 million to be exact) can now afford to buy the

median priced $200,000 new home. That's up 45

percent in the past 24 months.

> Home-builder confidence was in the double digits

in April for the first time in six months.

> First-time homebuyer activity has surged. In

March, first-time homebuyers accounted for

53 percent of transactions.

> The average price of a home in March 2009 has

increased approximately 20 percent when compared

to March 2000.

> While foreclosure filings rose 24 percent nationally,

the number of foreclosures in North Carolina fell 42

percent in the first quarter from the same period last

year.

> In the latest quarter, North Carolina ranked 36th in

the nation for foreclosure filings.

> In March alone, foreclosure filings fell 40 percent

when compared to the same period last year.

among the top 20 "Best Metros" in the country for

> In a recent study from the National Low Income

Housing Coalition, North Carolina ranked 21st in

affordable housing.

> North Carolina recently was named the secondbest

state in which to conduct business, according to