Blog – Page 766 of 814

01 Nov 2013

Recent Government Activity And Its Effect On Mortgage Interest Rates

Mortgage Tips

Mortgage rates typically are tied more to the yields on the 10-year Treasury note more than any other indicator. With the government in flux as the shutdown happened and ended, mortgage rates are also changing. Overall, mortgage rates have decreased because of a lack of confidence in the government's ability to get its finances under control. Although rates spiked in September when the Fed hinted that they would not be purchasing as many bonds, they quickly released an announcement that they would actually be maintaining their current purchasing habits. The Time Is Ripe For Homeowners Since then, mortgage interest rates…

31 Oct 2013

By Mark Feder

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Fed Meeting Minutes Release Hope Of A Stronger Economy With New Measures

Housing Analysis

The Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee released its customary after-meeting statement on Wednesday. In the context of meeting its dual mandate of stabilizing pricing and achieving maximum employment. The FOMC statement indicated that although the economy has improved in areas including household spending and labor market conditions, the national unemployment rate remains high and the housing market recovery has slowed. Fed Says Fiscal Policy Restraining Economic Growth The FOMC statement said that current fiscal policy and "retrenchment" is restraining economic growth as evidenced by failure to achieve benchmarks set by FOMC as indicators of a healthy economy. Benchmarks include a national…

30 Oct 2013

By Mark Feder

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Beware Of Zombie Titles

Home Buyer Tips

With the economic downturn, anyone dealing in real estate quickly became familiar with previously little-known terms such as foreclosure and short sale. Now that the housing market is picking back up and people are moving on, a new term is coming to light — zombie titles. The Zombie Title This is when a home has been vacated because the owners defaulted on their loan and their bank started the foreclosure process. However, for some reason or another the bank never completed the foreclosure and sold the home. So, when the city starts fining someone for the overgrown grass and dilapidated…

29 Oct 2013

By Mark Feder

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What You Should Know About Pending Home Sales This Month

Housing Analysis

Pending home sales fell in September by -5.60 percent, and were 1.20 percent lower year-over-year. This is the first time in more than two years that pending home sales have fallen below year-earlier readings. September's reading was below August's reading of -1.60 percent. The National Association of REALTORS®, which released the report, expects lower home sales for the fourth quarter of 2013 and flat sales into 2014. NAR provided good news in its forecast of 10 percent growth in existing home sales in 2013 as compared to 2012. A spike in mortgage rates in August coupled with rapidly rising home…