Sales and price appreciation are slowing in California but in certain locales across the U.S., the real-estate outlook is actually improving. In this week's survey of news from the Web, we look at Colorado second-home markets that just won't quit and rising housing prices in Austin, Texas, and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

There was an increase of 4.1%, while July's figure was revised downward. The median home price dropped. Easing housing prices may have been behind the jump in sales.

Coldwell Banker released its annual Home Price Comparison Index of 382 markets -- including, for the first time, 42 markets outside North America. Plus, the National Association of Home Builders predicts housing construction to reach historic heights, Baltimore faces high foreclosure rates and data show about half of U.S. businesses are run from home. Plus, more from June Fletcher.

Triangles “reflect a balance of forces,” and in the constant tug-of-war between the bulls and the bears, triangles appear very, very frequently — and in all time frames, too.

Remember, for example, how the forex media named the Japanese yen’s “poor performance” against the U.S. dollar “the biggest surprise” of last year? For the whole of 2005, the JPY “tumbled despite many bullish indicators: a big stock-market rally in Tokyo, big foreign purchases of Japanese stocks and burgeoning optimism that Japan’s economy is on sounder footing than it has been for years” (The Wall Street Journal).

The yearlong rally in the USDJPY came as a surprise to conventional economists because they were looking at the wrong indicators. They presumed that since Japan’s economy was getting stronger last year, so should the yen. That makes sense…but common sense is not what moves the markets; forex traders’ collective psychology does.

To an Elliott wave forex trader, the explanation for the yen’s weakness was obvious. In January 2005, long-term USDJPY charts showed a clearly bearish picture for the yen. See that multi-year A-B-C-D formation ? Yup, that’s a contracting triangle — a five-wave structure, as you already know.

With summer nearly a memory, many Americans are trying to figure out what to do with their vacation residence. Should you sell it or give it to your children? We offer tips on how to navigate your decision, with pointers on how to make the transfer should you decide to hand it to your offspring.

With the real-estate market sagging, economists and investors are watching a variety of gauges to get a handle on the severity of the contraction. We explain the statistics that could signal where the market is headed. Also, read the full article on the newest data on existing-home sales, which fell less than expected in August.

This week, House Talk columnist June Fletcher will contribute regular posts on the latest happenings in the housing market. Today, she takes a look at a new Spanish television program that outlines obstacles to buying a house, the most relocated-to states and how home builders are using podcasts to stay in touch with potential home buyers.

Extreme gardeners dig, mow, grind, plow and grapple. A small but growing group of homeowners have discovered the joys of large machinery. Many live on large plots where 'yard work' can mean clearing a hiking trail or digging up trees.