Do you live in Milton, Sharon, Acton, Chelmsford or Easton? All five were named in CNN Money’s top 100 list of America’s best small towns to live in.

Milton, which rang in at No. 2 – right after Louisville, Colo. – allows its residents to live on tree-lined streets that are dotted with historic homes, according to CNN Money. Perks of living in the top-rated Bay State town include the school system which offers a French immersion program that starts in elementary school. The average price of a single-family home in Milton as of June was nearly $455,000, according to records obtained by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. For a condo, you’d be shelling out around $372,000.

The No. 11 ranked Sharon is a popular summer destination and perfect for those with nautical tendencies. Single-family homes in Sharon run around $400,000 and condos fetch $390,000.

Acton, which comes in at No. 16, is full of historic homes and Revolutionary War landmarks. You’ll spend $455,000 for a single-family in this New England town and around $263,000 for a condo.

CNN Money calls Chelmsford, ranked No. 28, “a well-preserved historic town that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.” Single-family homes cost around $300,000 in this small town, and condos will run you about $202,000.

The last Bay State town to make the list, Easton at No. 43, is densely populated but knows how to preserve its opens spaces. Prepare to pay $345,000 for single-family home here and $178,000 for a condo.

While there probably aren’t a lot of people out there right now looking to purchase an investment property, you still might be interested to know that Boston has topped Move Inc.’s list of best college towns to invest in real estate.

Apparently, the Boston/Cambridge area is so good for investment properties because of all the college students that invade every September. Once you buy your place, just rent it out. Anyone who’s ever looked for a place to live in this area, me included, knows how competitive the rental market can be.

“In Cambridge and some of the Boston-proper neighborhoods, we’ve been seeing rents rising with demand and projections of further increases of up to 25 percent,” Boston-area RE/MAX Destiny broker/owner Paul Turcotte said.

The median list prices in the Boston/Cambridge market was $335,000 as of June and the more than 50 colleges in the area lead to the high renter demand. Average rental rates ranged from $3,122 for a two-bedroom to $3,913 for a three- or more bedroom unit.

According to Move Inc., in the next two years, real estate investors are expected to outnumber traditional homebuyers in their local markets by three to one and more than half of those plan to put their investments to work as rental properties.

What other towns made Move Inc.’s top five list? Nashville, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Houston.

Following in the footsteps of other organizations trying to woo homebuyers, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its very own mobile phone application, which has (big surprise) a mortgage calculator and even a glossary of mortgage terms for those of us not in the know.

While this isn’t the most awe-inducing phone app to ever come out, you have to give the MBA credit for not wanting to get left out of the game. And they say it’s all done in the name of better consumer education and protection. And I believe them since they’re offering the app for free.

So, if you or anyone you know are walking by a house for sale and are dying to know if it’s within your budget, you can pull up the MBA’s “Home Loan Toolkit” on your phone and figure it out. That is, after you first look up the home price on either Zillow or Trulia’s mobile app, which of course you were directed to after scanning the home’s QR code. Right?

Thanks to the recovering rental sector in the nation’s housing market, a “double dip” is unlikely to occur, according to a recent Freddie Mac report.

So, not only will renting continue to stay strong throughout the rest of the year, the Freddie Mac report projects that homes sales will also be anywhere between 3 percent to 5 percent more than those of 2010.

While this all sounds like good news, consumers still aren’t confident about their financial future, with many choosing not to purchase a home even though home prices and mortgage rates are low.

You can view Freddie Mac’s entire report here.

If you’re under 30, you can basically forget about owning your own home. At least that what a recent study from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America is telling us.

At the height of the homebuying boom, it was this under-30 set that grew the fastest when it came to buying a home. Ah, the good ol’ days of loose credit conditions and not being afraid to risk it all. Well, as if it weren’t already evident, you can kiss all of that goodbye.

It’s hard enough for someone with an established and well-paying career to get a loan these days, let alone a recent graduate who can’t get a job, has student loan debt that won’t be paid off for 30 years and has resorted to falling back on plan C – going to law school.

Homeownership rates for all age groups fell from an all-time high of 69.2 percent in 2004 to 66.4 percent in the first quarter of this year. Researchers expect that number to get even lower, but say that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You see, that era of buying McMansions on a $50,000 annual salary was something people are referring to as an unsustainable lifestyle. Researchers think that once homeownership numbers fall even more they will reach historical averages – a place they should have been the whole time.

Right now, researchers are saying homeownership levels are around what they were in 2000, which they see as a good thing because then the rates are unlikely to fall any further if other patterns for that same time period follow suit. What other patterns? Stuff like socioeconomic and demographic traits of the population at that time. However, if those sorts of things begin to look more like they did 2009, well, expect homeownership rates to drop, again.

You can read the full report here.

How much does a neighborhood or community influence homebuying decisions? Enough to make some people move from their current residence, according to a recent survey.

One in five homeowners across the county have moved from their home or would like to move because their neighborhood or community wasn’t an ideal fit for their lifestyle, according to a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate survey. But does that really surprise you?

I know I wouldn’t even think about buying a home in a neighborhood that didn’t fit my specific lifestyle needs, so why would anyone else? I suppose some would say that affordability could influence a person to buy in a neighborhood that they didn’t find “ideal.” But if you’re just going to turn around put it back on the market, why even bother?

Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, said, “While the relation of price to features has become very favorable in many areas throughout the country, ultimately the surrounding community may determine how happy you are with your home purchase.”

The survey found the following lifestyle choices were key for homebuyers:

• 38% - Ease of commuting by car
• 34% - Access to health and safety services
• 33% - Family-friendly neighborhood
• 32% - Availability of retail stores
• 21% - Access to cultural activities
• 19% - Public transportation access
• 18% - Nightlife and restaurant access
• 6% - Golf-friendly area - access to golf courses

There are lots of theories on what the best way to sell a home is and the Australians just came up with one more that might actually work.

Today they launched the website iPostcodes, which is how the home’s owner can directly participate in the marketing of their property. In addition to having a real estate agent take care of all the usual stuff – i.e. what’s the square footage, etc. – the homeowner can post fun and relevant facts about their home that, according to iPostcodes, no one but them would think to share.

What exactly can the homeowner bring the table? Here are a couple of examples:

• What is there to do nearby? Tell potential buyers about that awesome Italian restaurant within walking distance, the dog park or even how the community center down the street hosts monthly swing dance parties.
• Recent renovations. Wax on about how the new windows installed throughout the house maximize sunlight, making your home feel warm and cozy.

This website is only for Australian properties…so far. But perhaps if it’s successful it will catch on in the U.S. and provide a little something extra to help move a house from one owner to the next.

The housing market isn’t all doom and gloom, folks. It turns out that U.S. property is extremely popular with foreign buyers.

For the year ending March 2011, total residential international sales in the U.S. totaled $82 billion, a $16 billion increase from 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). These sales were split evenly between non-resident foreigners and recent immigrants.

Combined total domestic and international existing home sales in the U.S. were $1.07 trillion, NAR reported.

“The U.S. has always been a desirable place to own property and a profitable investment,” said NAR President Ron Phipps.

Why the nearly 20 percent increase in just one year? You guessed it! Low home prices coupled with tons of inventory.

According to NAR, foreign buyers have historically been attracted to property ownership in the U.S. for a number of reasons, which include:

• Homes are generally less expensive than comparable foreign properties.
• Homes in this country are viewed as a secure investment.
• The U.S. market offers rental opportunities and long-term appreciation potential.

New factors motivating foreign buyers (according to NAR) include:

• Foreign families are purchasing U.S. properties in college areas so their child (who’s attending a U.S. school) has a place to live.
• Some foreign executives temporarily working in the U.S. prefer to purchase a residence instead of renting.

It turns out that foreign buyers are also paying more on average ($315,000) for a U.S. home than the country’s national average ($218,000).

When actually deciding where to buy a U.S. home, three factors primarily make up the decision process: proximity to their home country; convenience of air transportation; and climate and location.

When it comes to the buy versus rent debate, it seems that senior citizens are more in favor of making rent payments over that of a mortgage – at least that’s what this nation’s homebuilders think.

A survey from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) during the first quarter found that builder confidence in the 55+ housing market was more upbeat for apartment production and demand than for sales of single-family homes or condos.

It seems like this is a direct result of the financial meltdown and seniors having to tap into their nest eggs. Another cause – prospective 55+ buyers are having trouble selling their existing homes.

It turns out that rental demand for this age demographic is so great that a shortage may occur in that segment of the market.

Seniors, get your rental housing while you can.

For the first time in its history, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), together with Wells Fargo, measured housing affordability in metro areas between this country’s major races and ethnic groups.

The report looked at several metro areas in Massachusetts and determined the Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for all races and ethnic groups combined in that area. Nationally, the HOI was 72.8 in 2010 – meaning 72.8 percent of all homes sold in the country last year were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400.

Here are the results for the Barnstable Town area where the median price for a home is $282,000:

· Whites: 60.1 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $76,400 median family income

· Blacks: 40.2 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $57,800 median family income

· Hispanics: 34.3 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $53,900 median family income

· Asians: 52.6 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $69,500 median family income

· American Indian/Alaska Natives: 33.8 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $53,600 median family income

For the Boston-Quincy area where the median price for a home is $292,000:

· Whites: 71.2 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $97,400 median family income

· Blacks: 27.4 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $50,900 median family income

· Hispanics: 15.9 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $39,000 median family income

· Asians: 52.5 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $73,300 median family income

· American Indian/Alaska Natives: 24.5 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $48,600 median family income

For the Cambridge-Newton-Framingham area where the median price for a home is $339,000:

· Whites: 65.8 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $104,200 median family income

· Blacks: 24.6 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $56,000 median family income

· Hispanics: 19.3 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $49,300 median family income

· Asians: 63.4 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $99,900 median family income

· American Indian/Alaska Natives: No data given

For the Pittsfield area where the median price for a home is $172,000:

· Whites: 73.8 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $66,600 median family income

· Blacks: 61.3 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $51,100 median family income

· Hispanics: 33.3 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $34,400 median family income

· Asians: 77.6 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $75,300 median family income

· American Indian/Alaska Natives: No data given

For the Springfield area where the median price for a home is $160,000:

· Whites: 86.9 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $75,700 median family income

· Blacks: 49.4 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $41,500 median family income

· Hispanics: 21.5 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $24,800 median family income

· Asians: 77.4 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $62,200 median family income

· American Indian/Alaska Natives: No data given

For the Worcester area where the median price for a home is $187,000:

· Whites: 84.3 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $84,600 median family income

· Blacks: 47.7 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $45,700 median family income

· Hispanics: 29 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $34,500 median family income

· Asians: 90.9 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $103,200 median family income

· American Indian/Alaska Natives: 80.6 percent of homes sold in 2010 were affordable; $76,800 median family income

NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen said in a statement that this report confirms to homebuilders that their efforts to build affordable housing are important. I like that this study was done and shows the disparities, but shouldn’t homebuilders have already known that their affordable housing work is extremely important?

You can read more about the report here.