mortgage rates

Real Estate Investments: Some Words of Guidance

March 13, 2009

“Most of the biggest real estate fortunes were not made in good times, but in bad times like this” Barbara Corcoran reminds us in this talk with NBC . It’s important perspective for Americans wondering how to invest in foreclosed properties without losing their cash or their credit rating. In the 4-minute interview, Corcoran quips on the basics and the essentials of foreclosure investing, “Everyone who loses their shirt loses it somewhere else.” “Every big shark started small.” “The house on the corner sets the tone for the block.” She also lends some personal perspective to rent rolls, the cost of losing a tenant, and finding a good business partner.

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Mark-To-Market : How An Obscure Corporate Accounting Rule Might Impact Your Mortgage Rate

March 12, 2009

You know you’re in the middle of an economic crisis when an accounting issue become Front Page News, and that’s exactly where we’re at today. Mark-to-market accounting is having its day in the sun and people in need of mortgage sometime soon would do well to pay attention. If you’ve never heard of mark-to-market accounting, don’t worry.

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The Half-Truth Of The Headline “1 In 8 U.S. Homes Are Late Paying Or In Foreclosure”

March 10, 2009

USA Today ran this 2008 Foreclosures By State heatmap last week, reminding us of a simple truth: Headline statistics can be misleading. According to data compiled by RealtyTrac, 1 in 8 U.S. homes were in various stages of default or delinquency at the end of 2008

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What High Unemployment Numbers Mean to your Mortgage Rates

March 9, 2009

Mortgage markets improved last week with investors’ renewed aversion to risk. To the benefit of home buyers, as major stock indices touch 12-year lows , investors are moving investible cash to the bond market.

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How does Consumer Spending Affect Mortgage Rates?

March 2, 2009

Mortgage markets worsened last week, taking interest rates with them. A steady drip of sour economic news plus concerns about the banking system outmuscled Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s congressional testimony in which he said the recession would likely end later this year. Overall, mortgage rates have risen in 9 of the last 12 trading days.

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What Are The Country’s Best Affordable Suburbs?

February 27, 2009

Nationwide, home affordability has received a serious boost from the combination of falling home prices and falling mortgage rates. Today, because of the sagging economy, in most parts of the country, the cost of owning a home versus renting one is now very close to its historical average

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The Key Fact Missing From Today’s Existing Home Sales Headlines

February 26, 2009

In reading the headlines this morning, you’d think that last month’s Existing Home Sales figure signaled more trouble ahead for the housing market. Quite the contrary. Beyond the attention-grabbing headlines is the real story; the one that shows — once again — that housing market fundaments are coming back into balance

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The Relative Cost Of Owning Versus Renting Is Back At Historical Norms

February 25, 2009

One popular housing theory is that — before a bona fide housing recovery can begin — the cost of owning a home versus renting one must return to historical levels. If that belief is a truth, a national return to rising home prices may be in store for 2009

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How will the Uncertainty about the Stimulus Package Effect Mortgage Rates?

February 23, 2009

Traders brushed off Tuesday and Wednesday’s passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the President’s mortgage relief plan, respectively. It showed how unsure markets remain about the stimulus package and its probable impact on the economy

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2009 Conforming Loan Limits Return To $729,750 In High-Cost Areas

February 20, 2009

Everything old is new again. Conforming mortgages are limited by loan size, based on “typical” housing costs around the country

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What The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan Doesn’t Mean To Homeowners

February 19, 2009

In Mesa, Arizona, Wednesday, the President presented the Homeowner Affordability and Stability plan, a multi-pronged effort to support the housing market. The story made the front page of nearly every newspaper in the country . The president’s plan is sweeping: Incent mortgage servicers to work with at-risk homeowners before delinquency starts Let homeowners with good credit but little equity refinance to today’s low rates Fund Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to support mortgage markets It’s a broad plan with many positive angles, but for now, we can’t forget that it’s just a plan .

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How The Stimulus Bill Indirectly Lowered Mortgage Rates

February 18, 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law Tuesday in Denver, Colorado.

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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates after the Stimulus Plan?

February 17, 2009

In anticipation of a strong, government-led stimulus plan, mortgage markets improved with fervor early last week only to fizzle with equal speed as efforts fell short of expectations. Neither the Fed, nor the Treasury nor Congress gave markets what they wanted. Between Monday and Friday, mortgage markets were essentially unchanged, ending a 4-week slide.

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Wouldn’t You Know It? As Consumer Confidence Falls, Home Sales Rise

February 16, 2009

Consumer Confidence fell this month for the first time in three months , reflecting Americans’ concern for the economy, housing, and the financial system. The reading isn’t much of a surprise given our collective exposure to a near-constant stream of negative news

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Forget The Dow Jones: How The Treasury’s Economy Revival Outline Helped Mortgage Rates

February 11, 2009

His speech was much anticipated, but it was what Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner didn’t say Tuesday that caused mortgage markets to improve. Mostly it was because of “safe-haven” buying. Safe-haven buying is when investors move cash to the safest investments possible for fear of losing their money elsewhere.

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Signs of rebirth in the Economy not Translating to Mortgage Rates

February 9, 2009

Despite a weakening employment outlook for Americans, the economy flashed signs of a rebirth last week. It wasn’t enough to reverse the recent mortgage rate trend, however

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10 Cities For Job Growth In 2009

February 6, 2009

Employment figures released this morning show that the economy has now shed 3.6 million jobs since December 2007, included close to half that in the last 3 months alone. The Unemployment Rate is now 7.6%.

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How Today’s Mortgage Rates Impact Home Affordability

February 5, 2009

Comparing July’s conforming mortgage rates to today’s average rates, there’s a 1.5 percent difference in favor of homeowners.

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Would You Believe That Home Buyers Are Out In Full Force?

February 5, 2009

A real estate trade group reported Tuesday that Pending Home Sales ticked higher in December 2008. A “pending home sale” is a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed

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Did We Miss the Chance for 4.5% Mortgage Rates?

February 2, 2009

Consumer confidence reached an all-time low and 100,000 Americans were issued layoff notices last week, each playing a role in the mortgage market’s relative worsening. For the third consecutive week, mortgage rates rose and average loan fees increased, too. Amid all of the negative economic news, however, there were two bright spots worth identifying and discussing.

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