1/ The federal $8,000 home-buyer tax credit expires Nov. 30. To take advantage of it, transactions have to close by that date. That means people who are in the market now should probably enter escrow within the next two weeks.

And keep the Thanksgiving holiday in mind. "Structure the escrow to close by Nov. 25," said Michael Gilmore of Royal Charter Mortgage.

2/ Apartment vacancies nationwide have reached a 23-year high as rising joblessness force people to double up or move back with family. The situation is the same in Fresno too:

Just take a look at the free-rent and other concessions apartment complexes are promoting. Those landlords also are competing against more rental houses put into play by investors or owners who have bought another home and either can't sell or are unwilling to drop the price on their existing home.