Your Local Gas Station May Have Clues About Tomorrow’s Mortgage Rates

May 7, 2009

The retail price of gasoline is rising nationwide, now up 30 percent since the New Year . It’s a similar run-up to what we’ve seen for retail gas prices in each of the last 5 Spring Seasons.

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The Minimum Preparatory Steps When Co-Purchasing A Home With A Friend Or Family Member

May 6, 2009

Both mortgage guidelines and the economy have tightened since 2006, bringing more attention to “joint homeowners” — non-spousal partners that buy and share a home as roommates. The practice is not new, but, anecdotally, co-purchasing is becoming more common

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Pending Home Sales Rise In March — Another Sign That Housing Is Recovering

May 5, 2009

For the second consecutive month, the number of homes under contract to sell increased — further evidence that housing markets may have already bottomed.

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The Decline In Home Values Slowed In February, Says Case-Shiller. Probably in March and April, Too.

May 4, 2009

The Case-Shiller Index is a popular reporting tool for the nation’s home prices. Each month, researchers measure home values in 20 large cities, compile their findings, and then publish them to the public.

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Finding Yourself In A Multiple-Offer Situation? You’re Not Alone.

April 27, 2009

The days of rock-bottom housing prices may be reaching an end. According to the National Association of REALTORS, the number of Existing Home Sales fell by a modest 140,000 units last month. It’s the fifth straight month in which home sales straddled the 4.5 million mark.

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How Improving Home Values May Lead To Easier Mortgage Approvals

April 23, 2009

If falling home values is what prompted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to tighten mortgage guidelines in 2007 and 2008, America’s mortgage applicants may get their long-awaiting loosening within the next 18 months. According to a government report, the values of homes financed with conforming mortgages rose for the third straight month in February. This is an important piece of data because as values rise on the homes against which conforming mortgages are made, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s respective loan portfolios get less risky.

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National Real Estate Data Lumps 128,203,000 Homes In America Into 1 Data Set

April 23, 2009

National real estate data helps economists identify trends in the housing market. It shapes policy and influences markets. For active home buyers and home sellers, though, national real estate data is irrevelant

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Understanding the Federal Reserve

April 21, 2009

The Federal Reserve meets next week for a policy-setting meeting. It’s one of 8 scheduled Fed meetings this year in which the Federal Open Market Committee votes on whether to raise, lower, or leave unchanged the Fed Funds Rate. Based on data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland , Wall Street’s expectations of the Fed Funds Rate post-meeting are as follows: 97 percent probability that the Fed Funds Rate holds at 0.000 to 0.250% 3 percent probability that the Fed Funds Rate is raised to 0.750%.

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Why Home Buyers Should Worry About Falling Housing Starts And Why Sellers Should Cheer Them

April 19, 2009

With respect to housing data, news is rarely positive or negative on a universal level. There’s always two perspectives to consider, after all.

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A Few Reasons Why Now May Be The Least Expensive And Easiest Time To “Go FHA”

April 18, 2009

Shopping for low mortgage rates is a game of luck.

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The 3 States That Accounted For 50% Of The March 2009 Foreclosures

April 17, 2009

Since 2007, foreclosures have dominated real estate news. You can’t turn on the news or open a paper without some foreclosure-related story. But for all of the discussion, foreclosures continue to be geographically concentrated.

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Current Mortgage Rates and the Week Ahead: April 13, 2009

April 13, 2009

For the second week in a row, mortgage markets started the week strong and then ended with a fizzle. In the holiday-shortened week, rates were exactly flat overall. There wasn’t much economic data to move rates last week, incidentally.

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Hoppy Easter!

April 10, 2009

No News Today–other than Have a Safe and Happy Easter!

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How To Know If Your Adjustable Rate Mortgage Will Adjust Lower

April 9, 2009

When conforming mortgages adjust, they’re often tied to an interest rate index called LIBOR. LIBOR is an acronym for London Interbank Offered Rate. But what LIBOR stands for isn’t as important as the role it plays

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April 15 Is 1 Week Away And 27 Million Taxpayers Have Yet To File. If You’re One Of Them, Here’s Some Tax Tips.

April 8, 2009

There are 138 million taxpayers in the United States and, according to the IRS, 20 percent of them file their taxes within 7 days of April 15. In a holiday-shortened week, that means that 27 million people had better get a move on

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How To Know If You’re Eligible For A Making Home Affordable Refinance

April 7, 2009

April 4, 2009, marked the official start of the Making Home Affordable refinance program. Expected to help 5 million homeowners, the Making Home Affordable program “looks the other way” with respect to falling home values, approving mortgage applications based on borrower payment history and benefit to the homeowner.

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Current Mortgage Rates for the week of April 6 2009

April 6, 2009

Mortgage markets were up-and-down last week as rates fell Monday and Tuesday before surging higher from Wednesday through Friday. In some case, after touching all-time lows, conforming mortgage rates added a half-percent in the second half of the week, ruining some homeowners’ chance to refinance

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By The Time You Read About Low Mortgage Rates, It Was Already Too Late To Get Them

April 3, 2009

Thursday morning, homeowners in different parts of the country awoke to find similar-sounding newspaper headlines: Rates on 30-year mortgages sink to 4.78%, a new low ( LA Times ) Mortgage rates at record low for 2nd week ( Miami Herald ) Mortgages hit another record low ( San Francisco ) The underlying story was that Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the lowest, average 30-year fixed rate mortgage in its 38-year, rate-tracking history. Once again, however, the headlines came too late for homeowners.

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Another Positive Housing Signal : The Number Of Homes Under Contract Increase

April 2, 2009

The number of homes under contract to sell is rising, another signal that the housing market may be regaining its footing. As reported by an industry trade group, the Pending Home Sales Index gained 2 percent in February . The report measures MLS-listed homes in “pending” status — sold but not yet closed.

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Are Home Values Rising Or Falling? The Answer Depends On Who You Ask.

April 2, 2009

A report published Tuesday showed that home values fell nearly 3 percent in January 2009 versus the month prior and by 19 percent from last year. On the surface, data from the study looks like more bad news for housing

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