The Obama administration’s latest housing scorecard shows signs of stability filtering into the housing market, with home equity numbers rising 7.4% between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.

The scorecard – which is compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Obama administration and Treasury – noted that home equity rose $457.1 billion in the first quarter of 2012, the highest level reached since the second quarter of 2010.

Sales of previously owned homes also grew 9.6% in May from year ago levels while new home sales reached their highest level in more than two years.

Still, foreclosure starts and completions increased in May, suggesting the market remains fragile in some areas.

The administration’s housing fact sheet cites National Association of Realtors’ data, which shows the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage hitting 3.66% in the most recent period, compared to 4.51% a year ago and 5.10% in December 2008.

The country had approximately 11.1 million underwater borrowers in the most recent CoreLogic report cited by the administration, compared to 10.7 million in the previous period and 11 million a year ago.

Mortgage originations trended downward in the report, with 1.219 million originations in the recent survey period, compared to 1.253 million in the previous report and 918,000 a year earlier, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.

Foreclosure sales and notices of default as tracked by RealtyTrac climbed slightly in the report, with the scorecard showing 66,300 notices of default last period, compared to 58,800 a year ago. Notices of foreclosure sale also edged up from 77,500 in the last report to 84,900, but fell from 89,300 last year.

New home sales provided a dose of optimism with 30,800 homes sold in the most recent report, compared to 25,700 a year earlier. Existing home sales also grew year-over year from 345,800 to 378,200, according to HUD and NAR data cited in the report.

We know it can sometimes feel as though there’s little love for vegetarians – see Anthony Bourdain’s vegan villains or that family down the street from you with the “Save a Cow, Eat a Vegetarian” bumper sticker – but now it’s getting personal!

According to a Today.com survey of 4,000 Match.com users ages 18-75, while an overwhelming 96% of self-described vegetarians agreed that they would consider dating an omnivore, 30% of omnivores stated that they would refuse to date a vegetarian or vegan. Further demographic breakdown was unavailable.

And vegetarians are supposed to be the sanctimonious ones! At least those hoping to avoid the hummus-or-haggis question in their search for love can frequent a handful of available veg-only online dating sites.

What do you think? Are you now or have you been in an inter-meat relationship? Do you prefer that your partner’s consumption match your own ethics? Would you change your eating habits to please a partner – or expect the reverse?

Foreign buyers of residential properties come from around the world. According to the 2012 Profile of International Home Buying Activity, foreign buyers of U.S. residential properties are concentrated in 10 countries. Canada, China, Mexico, India, and the U.K were reported as having the most international buyers, with Canada and China as the fastest-growing home countries.

Distressed declined to 25 percent of total sales according to the May Realtors® Confidence Index. About 44 percent of distressed sales were for cash over the past year.

Distressed sales go through several stages—the initial overdue status for mortgage payments, the actual foreclosure by the financial institution unless sold in a short sale, and the final sale of the property, frequently by Realtors® through the MLS. Currently Realtors® in a number of markets are reporting shortages of inventories of distressed real estate: the markets are clearing distressed properties from the market at a rapid rate.

The Existing Home Sales market is bifurcated, with distressed properties frequently being sold at significant discounts to market, frequently in subpar condition when going to market, and reported to be popular with investors seeking bargain prices. Investors pay cash in 69 percent of their overall purchases of properties (both distressed and non-distressed), in comparison to first-time buyers who overall pay cash in 11 percent of their purchases. In the case of distressed properties with a seller who would like to close a transaction without waiting for the buyer to obtain a mortgage, an investor may be a preferable buyer. We have received many reports of investors obtaining a property even when a first-time prospective buyer has offered a higher price.