A boom in farm prices has caused many Midwest cities to emerge as leaders for some of the strongest predictions for housing appreciation in 2012. Kansas City, Kan., came in the top spot in HousingPredictor’s annual survey, forecasting an appreciation of 5.8 percent for this year. “The recovery is starting in housing with these cities and will eventually spread to other communities throughout the nation as the U.S. recovers from the...

More cities were added to this month’s Improving Markets Index, which was created earlier this year by the National Association of Home Builders and First American. The index identifies cities that are showing improvement in housing permits, employment, and home prices for at least six consecutive months. The latest index results is “very much in keeping with the latest government housing data and our own builder surveys, which have...

The number of improving housing markets expanded for a fourth consecutive month, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index. The number of improving housing markets rose 37% to 41 in December from 30 in November. The new list features 20 new markets, including several major markets such as Washington, San Jose, Calif. and Toledo, Ohio. Nine smaller markets dropped of the list mainly because...

Seattle developer Lorig Associates says it plans to start building its long-delayed retail and residential project on the site of the old Vitamilk Dairy in Green Lake early next year. Seattle developer Lorig Associates says it plans to start building its long-delayed retail and residential project on the site of the old Vitamilk Dairy in Green Lake early next year. Work on the full-block development, called Green Lake Village, was suspended...

KB Home plans to make solar power a standard home feature in nearly all of its developments in Southern California starting next year, the company announced Monday. Currently, KB Home says that sales in communities with solar power as a standard are 30 percent higher than in communities that don’t offer homes with solar panel as a standard. “The strategy is part of the builder’s effort to make more energy efficient homes and lure...