There’s a mixed message in February’s Housing Starts data and it may be a good sign for home sellers in the near-term. As reported by the government, new home construction rose by 22 percent last month. The press is running with the headline number, calling it evidence of a market bottom. A more thorough inspection, [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee begins a scheduled, 2-day meeting today to discuss the country’s monetary policy. As is custom, the group will issue a press release to the markets upon adjournment. There are 8 scheduled FOMC get-togethers annually and the post-meeting press releases are among the most powerful market-moving events of the year. It’s [...]

Mortgage markets lost a little bit of ground last week, edging mortgage rates higher in a week marked by the largest stock market gains since November. Once again, mortgage rates couldn’t sustain a rally of more than 5 days. Not since late-2008 have mortgage rates managed to fall two weeks in a row. Last week’s [...]

“Most of the biggest real estate fortunes were not made in good times, but in bad times like this” Barbara Corcoran reminds us in this talk with NBC. It’s important perspective for Americans wondering how to invest in foreclosed properties without losing their cash or their credit rating. In the 4-minute interview, Corcoran quips on [...]

You know you’re in the middle of an economic crisis when an accounting issue become Front Page News, and that’s exactly where we’re at today. Mark-to-market accounting is having its day in the sun and people in need of mortgage sometime soon would do well to pay attention. If you’ve never heard of mark-to-market accounting, [...]

The basis of most mortgage lending is credit scoring. In general, the higher a person’s credit score, the lower his offered mortgage interest rate. Now more than ever it is extremely important to get a handle on your credit. Despite the many credit scoring models in use today, however, just 3 are relevant to American [...]

The basis of most mortgage lending is credit scoring. In general, the higher a person’s credit score, the lower his offered mortgage interest rate. Despite the many credit scoring models in use today, however, just 3 are relevant to American homeowners: The Equifax BEACON® score The Experian Fair Isaac Risk Model The TransUnion EMPIRICA® Generically, [...]

USA Today ran this 2008 Foreclosures By State heatmap last week, reminding us of a simple truth: Headline statistics can be misleading. According to data compiled by RealtyTrac, 1 in 8 U.S. homes were in various stages of default or delinquency at the end of 2008. This is a fact and it was widely reported [...]

Mortgage markets improved last week with investors’ renewed aversion to risk. To the benefit of home buyers, as major stock indices touch 12-year lows, investors are moving investible cash to the bond market. For only second time this year, mortgage rates ended the week lower than where they opened. Some of the bigger stories that [...]

If you asked an economist why home prices have broadly fallen over the past 2 years, you’d get a short lesson in Supply and Demand. Too many homes for sale and not enough people to buy them pushed values lower until a balance point can be reached. Looking at the chart at right, that balance [...]