Mortgage Market and Rate Recap – Week of December 22nd

December 29, 2008

A Holiday Week Provides Little Movement In the Market In a week defined by extremely low trading volume and lack of action, mortgage markets idled ahead of the holiday last week.  Friday’s post-holiday action was even slower.  I think people were sleeping their holiday meals off.  Just my opinion. After falling for two consecutive weeks, […]

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Great Time To Be An Investor, But Know Your Financing Options!

December 27, 2008

It’s a Great Time To Be An Investor With home prices falling across most parts of the country, investors in real estate are finding good value in certain rental properties.  Unfortunately, they’re also now finding it harder to get approved for a home loan.  Things have definitely changed over the past year. It’s Been a […]

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It’s a Good Time To Be An Active Buyer

December 24, 2008

Changing Times For the first time in over a year, the sales of “used homes” fell below the 5-million unit trendline, helping to push the total home inventory higher by 0.1 percent nationwide. Based on the rate at which homes are selling nationwide, it would take 11.2 months for the existing housing supply to be […]

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Refinance Boom Presents New Challenges

December 23, 2008

Remember What Caused It In late-November, the Federal Reserve pledged $600 billion to buy mortgage-backed securities.  The announcement drove down mortgage rates and started the ‘first’ Refi Boom. Then, the Federal Reserve made a second series of statements after its scheduled meeting last Tuesday, causing mortgage rates to plunge again.  This started the Refi Boom’s […]

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Mortgage Market and Rate Forecast – Week of December 22nd, 2008

December 22, 2008

It’s Going to Be a Short Week! This week is trade-shortened and thick with economic data.  In addition to two pieces of housing news and a consumer sentiment survey, we’ll get a look at the Federal Reserve’s preferred Cost of Living index.  All four data points are expected to validate the recession, so don’t expect mortgage rates […]

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Mortgage Market and Rate Recap – Week of December 15th

December 22, 2008

Rates Hit All Time Lows Mortgage markets improved last week for the second week in row.  After the Federal Reserve said it would use “all available tools” to stimulate the economy, traders responded by driving mortgage rates to 50-year lows. It didn’t last long, however. Very Little Time After bottoming out early-Wednesday morning, mortgage rates trended higher all […]

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Think Twice Before Opening a Store Credit Card to Save 15%!

December 20, 2008

The Big Question “Would You Like to Save 15 percent with today’s purchase? It will only take 60 seconds.” Holiday shopping is now in season. Have you heard this phrase yet? More importantly, do you realize how these small store credit cards impact your credit score? As a mortgage professional, I think about this all […]

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Refinancing 101

December 19, 2008

It Might Be On Your Radar As mortgage rates have fallen (and risen) in the past couple of weeks, there are a lot of Iowans considering refinancing their home.  I want to go on the record and say, don’t just lock it in and close it.  It’s all about timing.  If you lock out of […]

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Looking for a Low Rate on a Refinance? Know What to Look For!

December 18, 2008

Taking Action When it comes to mortgage rates, sometimes it’s better to “act now”.  For clarification, it is no longer the time to “act now”. On Tuesday, mortgage rates fell to their lowest levels in 4 years. It happened because the Fed said it would “employ all available tools” to resuscitate the economy.  Not because […]

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Why An Inverted Yield Curve Means Higher Rates on Adjustable Rate Mortgages

December 18, 2008

If You Didn’t Notice, Interest Rates Remain Inverted This is a market condition in which the longer you commit to lending your money, the less that you earn on your investment. So, “Why is that a big deal?” You Might Ask Imagine if a friend asked you to borrow money for two years you charged […]

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