The “Kick ‘Em While They’re Down” Rule

May 8, 2007

In his weekly syndicated column, Kenneth Harney pulled back the curtain on a nasty piece of IRS tax code that can penalize homeowners with foreclosures and short sales. Because the IRS treats canceled debt as ordinary income, homeowners that “work something out” with their lender may inadvertently add tens of thousands of dollars to their annual […]

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The Week In Review (May 7, 2007) : What To Watch For

May 7, 2007

Data painted a dismal picture for the economy last week including tempering inflation readings, slowing job growth, depressed home sale data, and ever-higher gasoline prices.  This gave markets hope that the Fed may start to ease up on the Fed Funds Rate. But, while the stock market rallied on the news, the bond market continued […]

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Where Does Your Town Rank Of America’s Top 100 List of 2007?

May 4, 2007

Relocate-America.com selected Asheville, NC as their #1 city in the annual report “America’s Top 100 Places To Live”.  This is the second time that the mid-size city of 70,000 ranked in the list’s Top 10, compiled since 1998. Rounding out the rest of the Top 10: Asheville, NC Traverse City, MI Ithaca, NY Chicago, IL […]

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How The ADP Jobs Report Impacts Mortgage Rates

May 3, 2007

If yesterday’s ADP Employment Report is any indication, tomorrow’s jobs report may fall short of the 100,000 new job expectation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ADP reported 64,000 new jobs were created in April. The ADP report has never been in lock-step with the “official” report from BLS, including this well-publicized event in June […]

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Why “Prime Rate” Is A Name And Not A Number

May 2, 2007

Pop Quiz: Which interest rate is lower?  8.25% or Prime Rate? If you answered anything other than “they are the same”, then you can understand first-hand why banks refer to Prime Rate by name instead of by number. It’s a neat little piece of sales psychology that keeps people from recognizing their true cost of […]

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Jobs Report Is The 800 Pound Gorilla In The Room

May 1, 2007

There’s a palpable uneasiness in mortgage markets right now and Friday’s payroll report looms large. Remember: it’s not the actual data that matters — it’s how close the data is to its expected levels. All week, traders have been jockeying for position based on a projected 100,000 new jobs created and if the number is […]

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The Week In Review (April 30, 2007) : What To Watch For

April 30, 2007

Last week, a ranking Fed official delivered a “wait-and-see” speech on inflation and that roiled the mortgage markets plenty. After sitting in a tight range for Monday through Wednesday, rates exploded higher Thursday as markets abruptly changed their expectations of growth for the rest of 2007. Despite weak housing numbers, employment and consumer spending figures […]

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What’s All That Yellen About?

April 27, 2007

So much for market calm. The mortgage market tanked yesterday when, in response to conflicting data about growth and inflation, San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen said “watchful waiting” is the Fed’s likely next step. This surprised markets because most expect the Fed to lower the Fed Funds Rate within the next few months. The […]

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With The Next Fed Meeting 13 Days Away, Markets Will Listen For Clues

April 26, 2007

Mortgage rates have been fairly lazy this week, reaching a near flatline.  Even the much-talked about housing data didn’t do much to unperch markets from their current levels. This afternoon, Fed officials Yellen, Fisher, and Mishkin each speak to the public in separate appearances.  If data can’t move mortgage rates, perhaps opinion can. Of the group, […]

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Builders May Be Figuring Out The Market Faster Than Home Sellers

April 25, 2007

According to all of the headlines, existing home sales are down across the country.  Way down.  Check out this sampling: Sales of Existing Homes Plunge Steeply (NY Times) Existing Home Sales Plunge In March (Houston Chronicle) Existing Home Sales Plunge, Biggest Retreat In 18 Years (Salt Lake Tribune) However, it’s important to keep these statistics […]

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Do Your Own Research And Your Appraisal Process Can Be Worry-Free

April 24, 2007

The appraisal of a home can be a bit frightening.  After buyer and seller have agreed on a price and signed a contract, a mortgage lender will send an independent professional to verify that the price is “reasonable” and fair. The appraisal process begins with a licensed appraiser making a thorough inspection of the home, […]

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The Week In Review (April 23, 2007) : What To Watch For

April 23, 2007

The economy showed signs of pushing forward last week, but major pressure on the average American consumer surfaced in the form of rising gas prices. Overall, it was a mixed bag for mortgage markets. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.6% last month.  This cost of living increase was much larger than expected and mostly […]

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How 2007 Gas Prices Are Pacing With 2006 Gas Prices

April 20, 2007

Gas prices are entering a very similar pattern to 2006 across the United States and — while it’s bad news for motorists — it could be bad news for mortgage rate shoppers, too. Last summer, gas prices averaged more than $3.00 per gallon for three main reasons: Fear of supply reduction from the Middle East Fear […]

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Why Downpayments Are Investments, Not Cushions

April 19, 2007

When home prices are stable or falling, home buyers often mischaracterized their downpayment on a home, calling it their “cushion” against falling home prices. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Nobody wants to owe money when they sell their home.  In fact, when asked, most people will answer that they just want to “break […]

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Whichever Way The Winds Blows

April 18, 2007

Up and down.  Up and down.  Up and down. It’s been a veritable roller coaster over the past two weeks for mortgage rates, mostly because traders can’t find the answer to the most important question facing mortgage markets: Are in the midst of inflation, or not? Everytime we see strong data in one sector of […]

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How Consumer Spending Changes Mortgage Rates

April 17, 2007

If the data is correct, the U.S. consumers keep doing what they do best — consume. Despite weak consumer confidence surveys, retail sales posted a 0.7% gain, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  This means that despite rising costs, Americans continue to fuel the economy. Speaking of fuel, a large reason for the unexpectedly large […]

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This Year, Taxes Are Due April 17

April 16, 2007

Just a reminder that taxes are due tomorrow, April 17 — even if your tax documents state otherwise.  This is because of Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. Emancipation Day dates to April 16, 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in that area.  When IRS deadlines fall […]

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Until Bonds Get More Press, You’re Going To Have To Find An Advisor You Trust

April 13, 2007

Unlike the stock market, it’s hard for the average person to know when the bond market is getting turned upside-down. So, looking back at last Friday, when mortgage rates jumped very, very quickly in a short period of time, a lot of people got surprised (and burned). With stocks, we can all turn on CNBC, Bloomberg, […]

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Markets Turned Quickly And Left Rate Shoppers In Their Wake

April 12, 2007

So, just how quickly have the markets turned? According to Fed Futures Trading as watched by the Cleveland Federal Reserve, on March 13, it was as likely that the August Fed Funds Rate level would be 5.250% as it would be 5.000%. In other words, markets were betting with equal odds that the Fed would […]

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Wealthy Americans Are 25% More Likely To Hold Mortgage Debt

April 11, 2007

Interesting fact of the day: 55.5% of “wealthy” Americans have mortgages on their primary homes vs. 44.6% of the overall population. This doesn’t mean that the wealthy are more indebted than the rest of us; it means that the wealthy are maximizing the tax deductions that the IRS makes available to every homeowner in the […]

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