Real Estate ABC - Information on Buying and Selling A Home

Interest Rate Report - June 13

Long-term U.S. mortgage interest rates jumped nearly half a point in May, according to mortgage finance company Freddie Mac, a sign of bustling housing market and growing consumer confidence in the economy.

Existing Home Sales - June 13

Sales of existing U.S. homes rose in April, but only slightly, being held back by heightened mortgage lending standards and a continued inventory shortage, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Housing is Now 56 Percent of Normal

After taking the largest hit since the Great Depression, the U.S. housing market is definitely reviving after the financial crisis of a few years ago. In fact, it is now more than halfway “back to normal” according to housing data website Trulia.com.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Are Starting to Turn Profits – Could This Be Bad?

Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been carefully nursed back to health since being taken into government conservatorship in 2008. Freddie Mac reported profits of $11 billion during 2012, a sharp improvement compared with it $5.3 billion loss in 2012.

How Will the Mortgage Market Handle Higher Interest Rates?

Long-term U.S. mortgage interest rates have likely hit bottom and are likely on their way back up. Rising rates may bring a new wave of buyers to the mortgage table, hopefully replacing a lot of the business that will be lost on refinance loans. The Federal Reserve has hinted that it might reduce its efforts to keep rates low sooner than previously thought.

How Obscenely Low Mortgage Rates Will Affect the Housing Market

Last week the Federal Reserve announced its new plan, Operation Twist, an effort to further push down mortgage interest rates while trying to boost the economy. It's an interesting choice, to say the least, as home loan rates were already at record lows and had done very little to stimulate the ailing housing market. Now the question is: Will even lower rates be the magic bullet?

Getting the Big Picture on the Housing Market

In its most recent meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve decided once again to leave its target interest rate unchanged in the range of zero to 0.25 percent. That rate has not changed since December 2008, and it looks as though there will be no movement for some time to come.

The Mortgage Deduction: Sacred or Superfluous?

As our country faces the biggest budget crisis possibly ever, the Obama Administration has created a deficit commission charged with discovering the best ways to bring down the national debt. It has come up with a plan to cut our $3 trillion dollars in debt over the next decade. One of the proposals that this commission has suggested is to eliminate the time-honored mortgage interest tax deduction. While this idea has recently garnered some bi-partisan support, it has also created a major uproar among the mortgage industry associations, who claim now is not the time to mess with the tax break. So who is right?

Tips for First Time Home Buyers

Buying a home can be a long, complicated and frightening process, and it is important to be prepared. Knowledge is power when it comes to negotiating the difficult world of home prices, interest rates and mortgage loans. For a first time home buyer, the more information you can gather before you start shopping, the better off you will be.

Is There Still Reason to Fear the Foreclosure Overhang?

Foreclosure filings have been falling year-over-year nationally for the past several months. Home sales have been showing strength for many months and home prices have been climbing at an even faster rate. It's feeling like the U.S. has been able to avoid the second wave of foreclosures that was predicted after the robo-signing scandal broke. Is there any chance that a massive roll-out of foreclosures is still looming and dangerous?

Moody's: Mortgage Credit Will Loosen in 2013

The report said that 2012 was the healthiest year for the housing market since 2005, almost the peak of the boom. For instance, mortgage delinquencies dropped to pre-recession lows, with the 30-day delinquency rate falling to it 2006 level. Falling late payments translate into fewer foreclosures down the road, and less exposure to risk by mortgage lenders. A drop in foreclosures and delinquencies will encourage banks to provide more mortgage credit, according to Moody's.

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