The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 26, 2010, increased 1.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1.5 percent compared with the previous week. “Purchase applications have increased over the past month, and are now at their [...]

The listing presentation of one of the top producers in the country will be exposed on an on-line workshop on Thursday. Put your credit cards away, there will be nothing for you to buy at this On-Line Workshop for Real Estate Agents. Go Here Now to see it: http://bit.ly/Unfairadvantage This class will show you no [...]

If you just emerged from your cave, you may not know the home buyer tax credit is set to expire on April 30th. In order to take advantage of the $8,000 First Time Buyer credit or the $6,500 credit, you must have an accepted offer by that date and the transaction must close on or before [...]

If you haven’t heard… FHA borrowing costs are going up! (per Mortgage Letter 10-02) Effective for FHA loans for which the case number is assigned on or after April 5, 2010 (here’s a hint, try and beat the deadline!), FHA will collect an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 2.25 percent. This policy change will increase [...]

Jump to Summary Last Week; by the end of the week mortgage rates were unchanged from the previous Friday. The bellwether 10 yr note also essentially unchanged at 3.69% -1 BP. Short term rates however increased last week, somewhat preparing for the Fed withdrawing from the quantative easing programs initiated when the economic recession began; [...]

Today, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-to-1 to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged, in its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. In its statement, the Fed confirmed its plan to hold the Fed Funds Rate near zero percent “for an extended period”. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is trying to determine how long to [...]

Last Week; after all the chopping around the longer end of the yield curve ended generally unchanged, mortgage rates and prices were unchanged. At the middle and short end of the yield curve rates increased, the 5 yr treasury increased to 2.41% up 7 basis points, the 2 yr note jumped 6 basis points to [...]

USDA Section 502 loans are primarily used to help low-income individuals (here in Oregon that starts at $80,500 gross income for a family of 1-4) or households purchase homes in rural areas.  You can view the eligible areas via their website.  Funds can be used to build, repair, renovate or relocate a home, or to [...]

Take advantage of improved tax credits available for many energy-efficient home improvements. Find a professional remodeler at www.nahb.org/remodel for assurance of a project well done. The Existing Home Retrofit Tax Credit (Tax Code Section 25C): Tax credits are available at 30% of the cost, up to a $1,500 lifetime limit, for installation in 2009 & [...]

Only 7 weeks left folks to grab up to $8000 in tax credits from good ole Uncle Sam. In November, Congress extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program to include a subset of “move-up” buyers — homeowners that have owned and lived in their home for 5 of the last 8 years. [...]