Blog – Page 726 of 771

21 Oct 2013

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – October 21, 2013

Housing Analysis

Many of the economic and housing reports typically scheduled were delayed by the federal government shutdown. The National Association of Homebuilders Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for October was released Wednesday with a reading of 55, lower than the projected 58 and previous month's revised reading of 57. The original reading for September was 58, which was the highest measure of builder confidence since 2005. NAHB cited concerns over mortgage rates and the federal government shutdown and its consequences as reasons for homebuilder confidence slipping. While the NAHB HMI reading was lower than last month, it remains in positive territory…

18 Oct 2013

By Mark Feder

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How To Manage Those Fallen Leaves

Around The Home

The kids are back in school, the weather is getting cooler and your yard is covered in a layer of fallen leaves. Yep, it's that time of the year again, but don't think of fall leaves as a chore. They can be a useful resource for fertilizing your lawn or even decorating your home for autumn. Finish The Raking It's tempting to just let the leaves lie in the yard. It's good fertilizer anyway, right? Wrong. You should rake everything up as soon as the trees begin to look bare, or else risk the blanket of leaves smothering your lawn…

17 Oct 2013

By Mark Feder

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Housing Market Index Shows Builders Continue To Have A Positive Outlook

Housing Analysis

The National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped two points to 55 from September's revised reading of 57. Builder concerns over labor costs and availability and economic uncertainty related to the federal government shutdown were noted as factors contributing to the lower reading for October. Key Points Noted In October's HMI included: Builder confidence remains above 50, which indicates that more builders have a positive outlook on housing market conditions than those with negative sentiment. The October HMI cites pent-up buyer demand in markets throughout the US as a positive influence on October's reading. A spike in mortgage…

16 Oct 2013

By Mark Feder

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Get The Lowdown On Private Mortgage Insurance

Home Mortgage Tips

You may have heard the term Private Mortgage Insurance when looking to finance real estate. What is PMI, and how do you know when you need to purchase it? The answer can be hard to find among all the real estate jargon you're hearing lately. Below is the short version of what you need to know. What Is Private Mortgage Insurance? PMI is an extra insurance required by some lenders to offset their risk of you defaulting on your home loan. When you put down less than 20 percent of the real estate's value, your lender may tell you that…