RentRange LLC appointed Eric Taylor to serve as its new president. Taylor joins the company with more than 25 years in the mortgage and insurance services industry.

According to a report from Fitch, home prices have risen at their greatest pace since 2005, but in certain markets, technical factors--including low mortgage rates, tight supply of existing for-sale homes, and weak levels of new home construction--rather than "fundamentals" acted as the driving force behind the price gains over the past few quarters. In order to determine sustainability, Fitch conducted an analysis using its Sustainable Home Price (SHP) model.

After measuring improvements over the two years, Trulia ranked Las Vegas as the top turnaround market in 2012 based on its recovery in asking prices. Trulia also found nine out of the top 10 turnaround markets were located West and Southwest, and the top six saw double digit increases. In 2011, only 12 out of 100 metros saw price increases compared to 82 in 2012. In addition, none of the 100 largest metros saw price declines greater than 10 percent in 2012 compared to 6 in 2011.

A survey of economists conducted by Pulsenomics and published by Zillow shows high hopes for home prices in 2013 and beyond.

As Zillow continues to grow its rental offerings, the company announced it's providing a free service to help rental professionals grow their business.

After five years of cumulative losses, home values will finally post their first annual gain, according to data from Zillow. The calculations show homes are expected to gain $1.3 trillion in cumulative value for 2012, the largest gain since 2005 and the first annual increase since 2006, Zillow reported. The company expects the year-end total to reach $23.7 trillion, which is a 6 percent increase from last year's total. In 2011, the cumulative loss in home values was $792 billion compared to 2010.

On a monthly basis, home values inched up by 0.6 percent to $156,200 in November, according to Zillow's Home Value Index. Compared to November 2011, home values have increased by 5.2 percent, which is the biggest yearly gain since August 2006. Twenty-six of the 30 largest metros tracked by Zillow registered yearly gains. Not surprisingly, Phoenix led with a 23.2 percent increase. The metro was followed by San Jose (+13.4 percent), San Francisco (+12.1 percent), Las Vegas (+11 percent), and Denver (+10.8 percent).

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report revealing only one in five people actually obtain a copy of their credit report each year.

Home sales in California displayed a typical seasonal decline in November and fell month-over-month, but the median price posted both monthly and yearly gains, San Diego-based DataQuick reported. About 37,481 new and existing homes were sold in November, representing a 4.5 percent decline from October, but a 14.7 percent increase from November 2011, according to DataQuick.

The desire for homeownership is still strong in young renters, according to a survey released by Trulia.