Monday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives defeated the $700 billion “Bailout Bill”, surprising Wall Street and the world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average responded by falling 777.68 points — its largest one-day loss in history and, this morning, every newspaper in America is covering the story as front page news. Lost in the coverage, [...]

Mortgage rates bounced around last week, ending up worse overall. It was the second straight week in which rates deteriorated. Sentiment was driven largely by the proposed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 — a.k.a. The $700 Billion Bailout. The good news is that Congress drafted its bill Sunday evening and within the 110 pages, [...]

Thursday, federal regulators seized mortgage lender Washington Mutual. The Seattle-based thrift became the third “big name” lender to close its doors since July, joining IndyMac and Lehman Brothers. In 2007, these 3 lenders represented about 10 percent of the mortgage market and their subsequent failures are confusing American homeowners. The most prevalent question: If my [...]

The August Existing Home Sales report was released Wednesday, showing a decline in the number of homes sold nationwide, and a reduction in the median sales price. Not surprisingly, the media singled these two statistics out, playing them as a big negative. They’re not. The decline in sales wasn’t good, but it wasn’t terrible, either [...]

Earlier this year — and for the first time in its history — the FHA changed its funding fees and mortgage insurance structure. Effective October 1, 2008, it’s repealing those changes. Partly to keep FHA home loans affordable, and partly to comply with new laws, the FHA is rolling back its up-front fees and ongoing [...]

Crude oil prices jumped $25 at one point Monday, ending the day up by 16 percent. This is an unwelcome development for home buyers because the same market forces that pushed up oil prices had a similar impact on mortgage rates. It all comes down to the U.S. dollar. Because both crude oil and mortgage-backed [...]

In a historic week for American Finance, mortgage rates rose considerably, reversing a 3-week trend through which rates had fallen. The U.S. Treasury is the biggest reason why most conforming mortgage rates increased by a half-percent. Hank Paulson’s government group helped to restore investor confidence that had steadily eroded from concern to fear since July [...]

Getting a great, low mortgage rate is often a combination of luck and preparation. Consider what happened in conforming mortgages this week: Monday, mortgage rates plunged to their lowest levels of the year Tuesday, they bounced back in full Wednesday, they clicked higher by a eighth-percent Thursday, they clicked higher by another eighth-percent And so, [...]

In August, home builders broke ground on the fewest number of homes since January 1991. It was the 16th straight month in which Housing Starts declined. But, although the press labels these statistics indicative of a recession, home sellers nationwide quietly applaud them. With fewer new homes coming on the market, home sellers are finding [...]