mortgage rates

4 States Account For 51 Percent Of The Nation’s October 2008 Foreclosures

November 15, 2008

Foreclosure is a hot topic among the press lately. It’s hard to turn on the television or open up a newspaper without seeing a story about it. But what’s most interesting about foreclosures is that they appear to be concentrated in certain areas of the country. According to the foreclosure-tracking service RealtyTrac, 4 states accounted […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : November 10, 2008

November 10, 2008

Mortgage rates fell last week, marking just the second time since September that rates improved on a weekly basis. The biggest news of the week was the U.S. Presidential Election. Markets appeared to cheer the Republican-to-Democrat transfer of power, posting large gains Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This in spite of a spate of negative economic […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : November 3, 2008

November 3, 2008

As global credit markets deteriorated in October, mortgage markets displayed an unnerving amount of volatility. Last week was no different. But, unlike in previous weeks in which rates improved on some days and worsened on others, mortgage rates were mostly higher last week, finishing the month on a surge. The biggest reason why mortgage rates […]

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How The Presidential Election May Impact Mortgage Rates

November 2, 2008

More than a handful would-be home buyers stayed on the sidelines this year, waiting for Election Day to pass. The prevailing thought was that once the new President-Elect was identified, credit markets will systemically unfreeze and housing markets will return to normal. If history is a guide, this is an unlikely scenario. Election Day doesn’t […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 27, 2008

October 27, 2008

Mortgage markets followed the recurring trading pattern of 2008 last week — volatility, volatility, and more volatility. After opening with a strong performance that drove rates down, late-week fears of a global recession reversed that path.  Mortgage rates ended the week unchanged. This was an unexpected outcome for the week considering that: The dollar gained […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 27, 2008

October 27, 2008

Mortgage markets followed the recurring trading pattern of 2008 last week — volatility, volatility, and more volatility. After opening with a strong performance that drove rates down, late-week fears of a global recession reversed that path. Mortgage rates ended the week unchanged. This was an unexpected outcome for the week considering that: The dollar gained […]

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Home Sales Are Up, Home Supply Is Down — This Is What A Recovering Market Looks Like

October 27, 2008

Statistics are what you make of them, but sometimes, they can provide good perspective. For example, from its peak in 2005 to its trough in late-2007, the number of “used” homes sold nationwide plunged. In 2005: Roughly 7 million homes sold annually In 2007: Roughly 5 million homes sold annually Through all of 2008, though, […]

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Home Sales Are Up, Home Supply Is Down — This Is What A Recovering Market Looks Like

October 24, 2008

Statistics are what you make of them, but sometimes, they can provide good perspective. For example, from its peak in 2005 to its trough in late-2007, the number of “used” homes sold nationwide plunged. In 2005: Roughly 7 million homes sold annually In 2007: Roughly 5 million homes sold annually Through all of 2008, though, […]

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Foreclosures Fell 12 Percent in September 2008

October 23, 2008

According to foreclosure-tracking service RealtyTrac, the foreclosure rate is falling nationwide. Versus August, foreclosures fell by 12 percent in September 2008 as more than half of the states showed month-over-month improvement. Most interesting in the data is that several states that led the foreclosure boom in 2007 now appear to be leading the charge out of it. For […]

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Simple Real Estate Definitions : Amortization

October 22, 2008

In the widest definition possible, amortization (pronounced: am-ohr-tih-ZAY-shun) is the scheduled process by which a loan’s principal balance pays down to $0. The opposite of an amortizing loan is an interest only loan for which there is no scheduled principal repayment schedule. With respect to mortgages, amortization is what determines how much of a monthly payment goes […]

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Effective December 13, 2008, Some Conforming Mortgages Will Require Larger Downpayments To Get Approved

October 21, 2008

In an effort to limit risky borrower behavior, Fannie Mae announced a new round of mortgage guideline changes last week. Unlike previous its previous 20-plus updates that raised income requirements and minimum credit scores (among other changes), Fannie’s latest guideline tweaks focus on the value of its underlying mortgage assets — home equity. Effective December […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 20, 2008

October 20, 2008

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded both its largest one-day point gain and second-largest one-day point loss in history. Mortgage markets got whipsawed, too. From day to day, huge rate swings made mortgage rate shopping difficult.  It wasn’t uncommon for lenders to change pricing 3 times per day. When the week closed, though, […]

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How Terrible Housing Data Can Actually Help Push Home Values Higher

October 18, 2008

Once again, the headlines may be misleading you.  It’s a good thing that Housing Starts dropped last month — despite what the papers say. A “housing start” is a new residence on which construction has started.  Yesterday, the government released September 2007’s Housing Starts data for the country. There was a 10.2% drop in Housing […]

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The Rising Cost Of A Small Downpayment

October 17, 2008

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is a mortgage lender’s insurance policy against highly-leveraged homeowners.  It’s typically required when homeowner equity is less than 20 percent at the time of closing. With PMI defaults up 40 percent over last year, though, private mortgage insurers are taking big losses. They’re also taking outsized steps to prevent additional claims going forward […]

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The Obvious Truth About Mortgage Rate Predictions

October 16, 2008

As the stock market dips then jumps then dips again, it’s important to remember that markets are unpredictable and nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop the analysts from trying. An obvious example comes from May of this year.   As the price of oil crossed $120 per barrel on its way to an […]

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Why Homeowners With Adjusting Adjustable Rate Mortgages May Be In For A Surprise

October 15, 2008

For homeowners with soon-to-adjust adjustable rate mortgages, the recent banking turmoil worldwide may lead to budgetary pain. This is because most conforming ARMs made since 2003 are based on a borrowing cost called LIBOR and LIBOR is up an uncharacteristic 2 percent since September. LIBOR stands for London Interbank Offered Rate and is the rate at which […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 13, 2008

October 14, 2008

Throughout the feverish activity on Wall Street last week, mortgage bonds sold off with force, driving mortgage rates to their highest levels since July. It was the fourth straight week in which mortgage rates worsened. But, with the mortgage markets closed Monday, stock markets rallied to their largest one-day gain in history. The Dow Jones’ […]

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How Falling Gas Prices May Stave Off Recession

October 10, 2008

Given the stock market’s recent performance, it’s not surprising that gasoline’s falling prices are garnering very little attention. That doesn’t make it any less relevant, however. Since peaking in July, gas prices are off by 20 percent. Falling gas prices are an important positive for the U.S. economy because less money spent at the pump means […]

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Why Mortgage Rates Haven’t Fallen As Expected

October 10, 2008

When the government nationalized mortgage lending in September, housing analysts predicted lower mortgage rates. For a brief two-week stint, they were right — post-takeover, the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage fell below 6.000 percent nationally for the first time in 7 months. Since then, however, mortgage markets have reversed. Rates are now at pre-takeover levels. Now, […]

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Foreclosures Fell 12 Percent in September 2008

October 10, 2008

According to foreclosure-tracking service RealtyTrac, the foreclosure rate is falling nationwide. Versus August, foreclosures fell by 12 percent in September 2008 as more than half of the states showed month-over-month improvement. Most interesting in the data is that several states that led the foreclosure boom in 2007 now appear to be leading the charge out […]

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