SACRAMENTO >> After taking a significant recession-era hit, California’s economy has bounced back up to the seventh largest in the world as the state’s gross domestic product reached $2.3 trillion in 2014, according to figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That was enough for California to edge past Brazil’s 2014 GDP of $2.2 trillion, but still below the sixth-place United Kingdom. California had slipped in the ranks since 2002, when it last clai

Average down payments on homes fall to three-year low Buying a home has gotten a little bit easier — at least in terms of getting a down payment together — and young people may finally be ready to make a move. The average down payment for single-family homes, condos and townhouses purchased in the first quarter of 2015 was 14.8% of the purchase price, down from 15.2% in the previous quarter and down from 15.5% a year ago, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2012, acco

Foreclosure inventory plunged nearly 25 percent in April as the number of completed foreclosures — which reflect the total number of homes actually lost — fell almost 20 percent year-over-year, according to CoreLogic's latest National Foreclosure Report. There were 40,000 completed foreclosures nationwide in April, down from 50,000 a year prior. Foreclosure levels have fallen nearly 66 percent from their peak in September 2010. More home owners are keeping up with their mortg