Mortgage rates were up last week on weak housing data and a growing nervousness about mortgage bond quality. Rates would have been up more if not for a tame inflation reading Friday. The Personal Consumption Expenditures report fell Friday to 2.0% year-over-year, putting it back within the Federal Reserve’s comfort zone of 1-2 percent. PCE [...]

When mortgage rates change rapidly, it’s a fiscal challenge to shop for a home and/or home loan. Lately, mortgage rates have been especially volatile, mirroring the wild moves of the stock market. Here’s how up-and-down stock markets have been in 2008: Through last week, the S&P 500 Index changed more than 1 percent per day [...]

Each month, the Commerce Department and the National Association of REALTORS release national housing data. The former’s release is called the New Residential Sales report and the latter’s is called the Existing Home Sales report. Both reports highlight the “median sales price”, the point at which half of the homes in the U.S. sold for [...]

Consumer Confidence fell to its lowest point in three years and anybody who watches the evening news can understand why. Each day, news programs barrage Americans with tales of economic woe and American Opinion is largely shaped by the media. After enough time, the reporting becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. But, in the Consumer Confidence report, [...]

Each quarter, the Census Bureau releases the Homeowner Vacancy Rate, a housing statistic the measures the percentage of homes for sale that are vacant. A home listed for sale may be vacant for several reasons including: The home has been foreclosed and the owner has moved out The home seller moved into a new home [...]

Conforming mortgage rates edged slightly lower for the second week in a row. Mortgage rates fell for two main reasons: The Federal Reserve offered fiscal support for troubled mortgage-backed securities A government group gave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac permission to lend more of money to American homeowners These two actions combined to make mortgage-backed [...]

Since December 2007, mortgage lending guidelines have changed very quickly and often without notice. Some of the more well-known changes include: Broad restrictions on stated income home loans Broad restrictions on 100 percent financing “Risk-based fees” for credit scores under 740 Some of the lesser-known restrictions relate to property type and occupancy status as well [...]

The Fed lowered the Fed Funds Rate by 0.750% to 2.250% yesterday. Because it is tied to the Fed Funds Rate, Prime Rate also fell by 0.750% yesterday. Prime Rate is now to 5.250%. Holders of home equity lines of credit and credit card debt benefited from the change and will see lower interest costs [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee meets today and will issue a press release in addition to cutting the Fed Funds Rate at 2:15 P.M. ET. The verbiage of the press release will be as widely watched as the rate cut itself because markets are curious about how far the Federal Reserve will go to lessen [...]

Mortgage rates fell last week on growing evidence of a recession, but far fewer Americans were eligible to take advantage. Mortgage lenders continue to reduce product menus and that is leaving homeowners with fewer mortgage financing options than before. As an added hurdle, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently added “risk-based” fees on all conforming [...]