The government’s First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit expires December 1, 2009. If you expect to use the program in conjunction with a home purchase, therefore, you may want to consider yourself officially “on the clock”. Assuming a 60-day window between contract and closing, there are now 77 days left to find a home and go [...]

For the fourth consecutive month, the country’s foreclosure activity was dominated by a small number of states. As reported by RealtyTrac.com, more than 50 percent of the country’s foreclosure-related actions in June concentrated in just 3 states: California Florida Nevada The states rounding out the Top 10 include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Illinois and [...]

Mortgage markets worsened for the third straight Tuesday after the government reported June’s Retail Sales report came in slightly better than expected. Since falling to near 5.000 percent last week, 30-year fixed conforming mortgage rates have risen by almost 3/8. It’s a similar mortgage rate pattern to what we’ve seen over the last 10 months [...]

If you’ve been driving lately, you’ve noticed that the cost of a fill-up has gone down. According to GasBuddy.com, retail gas now costs $2.52 per gallon, on average nationwide. Since peaking in mid-June, gas prices are down 6 percent. For the economy, this is an important story. Because Americans are spending less at the gas [...]

Mortgage markets improved last week on fresh concerns about the U.S. economy. With data showing neither overt strength nor weakness, and with earnings season about to start, traders got defensive with their money and parked it in bonds. As a result, mortgage rates fell in mixed trading last week. It’s the third consecutive week in [...]

Sometimes, saving money on your mortgage is as simple as picking a better closing date. It’s all about Rate Lock Commitments. A Rate Lock Commitment is a bank’s promise to honor a specific mortgage rate for a specific period of time. They are a lender’s prediction of what mortgage markets will look like at some [...]

Down economies reduce consumer spending, creating a bind for retailers. As excess inventory collects dust, companies have little choice but to drop prices in hopes of selling more product. For the bargain shopper with extra cash right now, there are some terrific deals to be had out there. This 4-minute piece from NBC’s The Today [...]

For the first time in nearly six months, Fannie Mae is imposing strict, new guidelines on American homeowners. This time, the hardest hit demographic is owners of 2-unit homes. In its official announcement, Fannie Mae listed the following changes to its 2-unit financing programs, separated by occupancy type. Primary Residence Purchase: Maximum loan-to-value drops to [...]

Last week’s jobs report is the latest data point to drag down rates for today’s home buyers and would-be refinancers. As reported by the government, the national Unemployment Rate rose to 9.5 percent in June — a 25-year high. As the percentage of out-of-work Americans grows, households have less disposable income to pump back into [...]

Mortgage markets were relatively calm throughout last week’s holiday-shortened trading sessions. After trading within a tight range between Monday and Wednesday, a weak jobs report helped edge rates lower into the weekend. For the second week in a row, mortgage rates ended the week lower than where they started — if only slightly. Meanwhile, if [...]