Single-family Housing Starts rose for the 4th straight month in July, another sign that the battered housing market may be making its comeback. “Housing starts” are new homes on which construction has recently started. Not surprising, in a related story, homebuilder confidence moved to a 12-month high. Ironically, an increase in newly-built homes could actually [...]

It looks like banks are less scared of mortgage loans these days. In its quarterly survey to member banks, the Federal Reserve asked senior bank loan officers whether “prime” residential mortgage guidelines had tightened in the last 3 months. Just one-fifth of banks said guidelines tightened last quarter, a dramatically lower figure versus last quarter [...]

Mortgage markets improved last week on weaker-than-expected data and a neither-good-nor-bad statement from the Federal Reserve. Mortgage rates regained most of their lost ground after touching a 6-week high the week prior. Conforming mortgage rates were down last week. News of the Federal Reserve’s announcement made headlines last Wednesday, but it was the less-reported stories [...]

Foreclosure-tracker RealtyTrac reports that the number of foreclosures nationwide rose 7 percent on a month-to-month basis last month. However, 3 states dominated the foreclosure list, tallying more foreclosures between them than the rest of the country combined. California : 30.0 percent Florida : 15.7 percent Arizona : 5.4 percent On a per-household basis, the states [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. It also reiterated plans to support the mortgage market to the tune of $1.5 trillion. In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. economy is “leveling off” and that financial markets continue to improve. [...]

As the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day weekend is popular vacation time for American families. And this year, with home sales on the rise and mortgage rates relatively low, early-September figures to be a popular closing date, too. These points may appear unrelated, but there is an important connection between them. Like workers in [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee kicks off a two-day meeting this morning. It’s one of 8 scheduled meetings the FOMC holds annually. The FOMC purpose is to discuss the nation’s economic health and, as appropriate, makes new policy that either stimulates or retards economic growth. The FOMC’s most well-known tool for reaching this goal is [...]

To say that the mortgage markets took a beating last week would be an understatement. After better-than-expected consumer spending, housing and employment data, stock markets rallied and mortgage markets suffered. Mortgage rates unwound completely their gains of the last six weeks and now rest near the loftiest levels from June. Headed into Monday’s market activity, [...]

This morning’s jobs report is doing a number on mortgage rates, putting another dent in home affordability nationwide. Despite the slightly flat Unemployment Rate, the government’s July Non-Farm Payrolls report reinforced the notion that the recession may be ending soon, if it hasn’t already. Just 247,000 jobs were lost last month — much fewer than [...]

At least one thing is back to normal in the mortgage markets — it’s no longer cheaper to go with a fixed rate mortgage than an ARM. As reported by Freddie Mac, a conforming 5-year ARM is priced a half-percent lower than a comparable 30-year fixed. Earlier this year, the pricing was reversed. It’s uncommon [...]