For the first time this year, more than half of the markets tracked by eppraisal.com saw an increase in the median home value. Of the 97 markets that saw positive gains, more than 25 percent of those markets saw a double-digit increase in the median home value. For example, in the Ohio markets of Columbus, Sandusky, Lima, and Cleveland-Elyria, all saw double-digit increases of 12.7 percent, 23.1 percent, 26.7 percent, and 29.9 percent respectively. Overall, increases were seen across most states. Ithaca, NY, saw an increase of 16.9 percent to a median home value of $159,000, Fairbanks, AK, increased by 9.3 percent to a median home value of $225,506, and Boston-Quincy, Mass., areas increased by 7.1 persent to a median value of $300,000.

In the previous report, smaller markets led the list with overall increases in home values; however, larger markets have begun to make a comeback as well. For example, San Jose-Sunnyvale and Santa Clara, Calif., saw an increase of 8.4 percent to a median value of $439,000. San Francisco-San Mateo, Calif., was up 10.4 percent to a median value of $635,000, and Chicago-Naperville, Ill., saw an increase of 3.1 percent to a median value of $115,000. This is the second time this year that San Francisco has seen an increase in home values. For the first time this year there are more positive markets in California than negative.

On the other side of the country, Florida leads the list with the most declines, with 14 of the 19 markets tracked by eppraisal.com showing declines in the median home value. In Jacksonville, Fla., home prices dropped 3.9 percent to a median home value of $152,900. In the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, home values dropped 3 percent to a median value of $125,000. The Orlando-Kissimmee area dropped 8.5 percent to a median home value of $151,000.

Overall, the markets are showing signs of recovery and surprisingly less than five percent of the markets tracked by eppraisal.com saw more than a 10 percent drop in home values. This is down from the more than 30 percent of markets seeing a 10 percent or higher decline in the median home value that was reported in the March 2009 report.

And obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year, and no state experienced a significant decline.

“The obesity epidemic clearly goes beyond being an individual problem,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust, a nonprofit public health group.

It’s a national crisis that “calls for a national strategy to combat obesity,” added Robert Wood Johnson vice president Dr. James Marks. “The crest of the wave of obesity is still to crash.”

While the nation has long been bracing for a surge in Medicare as the boomers start turning 65, the new report makes clear that fat, not just age, will fuel much of those bills. In every state, the rate of obesity is higher among 55- to 64-year-olds — the oldest boomers — than among today’s 65-and-beyond.

The report provides one of the first in-depth looks at obese boomers, and its implications are sobering. This first wave of aging boomers will mean a jump of obese Medicare patients that ranges from 5.2 percent in New York to a high of 16.3 percent in Alabama, the report concluded. In Alabama, nearly 39 percent of the oldest boomers are obese.

Health economists once made the harsh financial calculation that the obese would save money by dying sooner. But more recent research instead suggests that better treatments are keeping them alive nearly as long — but they’re much sicker for longer, requiring such costly interventions as knee replacements and diabetes care and dialysis. Medicare spends anywhere from $1,400 to $6,000 more annually on health care for an obese senior than for the non-obese, Levi said.

“There isn’t a magic bullet. We don’t have a pill for it,” said Levi. “It’s not going to be solved in the doctor’s office but in the community, where we change norms.”

His group is pushing for health reform legislation to include community-level programs that help people make healthier choices — like building sidewalks so people can walk their neighborhoods instead of drive, and providing healthier school lunches to help fight the childhood obesity that turns into adult obesity. The pending House and Senate bills address obesity in different ways; one provision would particularly target baby boomers.

Many states have begun programs to try to tackle obesity, and there are hints of improvements, Marks said.

“We’re still getting fatter, but maybe a little more slowly than before,” he said: Last year’s report found obesity rates rising in 37 states compared with 23 this time around.

He’s encouraged that 19 states have implemented nutritional standards for school meals that are stricter than the federal government’s; in 2004, just four states did. Some are requiring nutritional information for restaurant food, he added.

States “recognize the solutions will lie outside traditional medical care,” Marks said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long said that nearly a third of Americans are obese. The Trust report uses somewhat more conservative CDC surveys for a closer state-by-state look. Among the findings:

_Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row.

_Three additional states now have adult obesity rates above 30 percent, including Alabama, 31.2 percent; West Virginia, 31.1 percent; and Tennessee, 30.2 percent.

_In 1991, no state had more than a 20 percent obesity rate. Today, the only state that doesn’t is Colorado, at 18.9 percent.

_The South is the fattest region. The Northeast and West are slightly slimmer than the rest of the country.

_Mississippi also had the highest rate of overweight and obese children, at 44.4 percent in total. It’s followed by Arkansas, 37.5 percent; and Georgia, 37.3 percent.

_Following Alabama, Michigan ranks No. 2 with fat boomers; 36 percent of its 55- to 64-year-olds are obese. Colorado has the lowest rate, 21.8 percent.

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On the Net:

Trust for America’s Health: http://healthyamericans.org/

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: http://www.rwjf.org/

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 The proposed rules impact most single-family residential property in the city – roughly 10,000 homes - representing a massive taking of value from Boulder’s citizens. Most homeowners in Boulder stand to lose tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars – and the intrinsic value of having and using a home without overly oppressive restrictions.

 Our group includes a wide array of folks sharing the common ground that Boulder City Council is going too far with its recent effort to homogenize the city at the expense of our property rights and freedom.  We are seeking to stop Council before these regulations are enacted, and if that effort fails, to take this issue to the voters in order to stop Council’s misguided attempt to freeze the city in amber.  What can you do to help protect your home and your property rights?

http://leavemyhomealone.org/site/

• Property must be used as principle residence.
• Available to individuals with an adjusted annual gross income of no more than $75,000.
• Purchaser must be a first-time buyer and purchaser’s spouse cannot have owned a principal residence within the past 3 years.
• No repayment of the credit for purchases made between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.

CHFA JumpStart Tax Credit Program

Take advantage of the Federal First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Program by using the CHFA JumpStart Tax Credit Program for your down payment and/or closing costs.  Repay the 0% Second Mortgage Loan when you get your tax credit and build instant equity in your home.

The CHFA JumpStart Second Mortgage program is available for 3.5% of the First Mortgage Loan Amount, up to $6,000, at an initial 0% interest rate, and converts to an 8% interest rate with a 120 month term if not paid in full by June 30, 2010.  Interest begins accruing on July 1, 2010, with payment beginning on August1, 2010 and are made monthly thereafter.

To receive the greatest benefit from the JumpStart Program CHFA strongly recommends that you repay the CHFA second mortgage in full with the tax refund.  If the CHFA second mortgage goes into repayment, the benefit of the program is substantially diminished.  If the borrower does not intend to repay the CHFA second mortgage with their tax refund the borrower should consider using a different CHFA Mortgage Loan Program, such as the CHFA HomeOpener Plus.