Spring and early summer are the most active seasons for starting home remodeling projects. Perhaps those long winter months produced ideas for changes that would enhance the family's lifestyle, and now is the time to implement those plans.

The two top remodeling projects during the past year were improvements to the bathrooms and kitchen.

Bathrooms were the most common type of remodeling job, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Remodeling Market Index. Bathroom remodeling was cited as the most common job by 72 percent of remodelers, followed by kitchen remodeling at 70 percent.

Bathroom and kitchen remodeling had been jockeying for the top spot in terms of popularity over the past few years. But since 2009, bathroom remodeling has remained the most popular job, according to the NAHB.

Other currently popular projects are window and door replacements, whole house remodeling and room additions.

Other popular remodeling projects include adding or repairing decks, new siding and basement finishing.

Q: Are all-cash home purchases still popular?

A: Yes, and they are increasing. RealtyTrac, a source for housing data, released its first quarter of 2014 Institutional Investor & Cash Sales Report.

It shows the share of all-cash sales reached a new high in the first quarter, even as the share of institutional investor purchases dropped to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2012.

The report shows 42.7 percent of all U.S. residential property sales in the first quarter were all-cash purchases, up from 37.8 percent in the previous quarter and up from 19.1 percent in the first quarter of 2013 to the highest level since RealtyTrac began tracking all-cash purchases in the first quarter of 2011.

Q: Are paperless FHA mortgage documents a good thing?

A: Paperless mortgage advocates welcomed the Federal Housing Administration's decision to begin accepting electronic signatures, but warn the wording of the new policy is confusing and will likely require further clarification for lenders to adopt it, it was reported by National Mortgage News

The Mortgagee Letter authorizing the paperless process immediately allows lenders and servicers to use e-signatures on the FHA's documents for insurance endorsements, servicing and loss mitigation, insurance claims and real estate-owned property sales.

The document sets a path for e-signed promissory notes, also known as e-mortgages, at the beginning of 2015.

Q: Are home prices expected to rise sharply in coming months?

A: Prices will rise, but not as much as previously predicted. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its Survey of Consumer Expectations for May 2014.

The survey found that home price-change expectations fell slightly for the fourth straight month, reaching a new low of 3.77 percent.

Q: Has the rate of homeownership dropped for older people?

A: The rate basically has remained constant. While the homeownership rate among owners age 65 and older has remained at a constant 80 percent for the past decade, the percent of older people with outstanding mortgage debt has increased since the start of the housing crisis, according to a recent report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Q: Do most homebuyers prefer a new home or an existing one?

A: In a survey of more than 2,000 adults, Trulia found an estimated 41 percent "would strongly or somewhat prefer" to buy a new single-family home rather than an existing one, assuming the prices were equal.

Just more than one in five respondents — 21 percent — said they would prefer an existing home, while 38 percent expressed no preference.

Q: Where are homes selling rapidly?

A: In many metro areas, home sales are almost booming. According to the Fastest Markets Report issued by Redfin, homes are "flying off the market" in many places, such as San Francisco; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C.

The report notes that although homes are selling faster, fewer total homes are selling. Inventory has risen in these metros, but prices are holding buyers back.

To find out more about Jim Woodard and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.