Author Archive
Dec
Rising Mortgage Rates Block Refis
As the yield on the 10-year Treasury hits a six month high, you can almost hear all the doors slamming over in refi land. While you’d think most borrowers had already refinanced their loans to take advantage of the recent record-low interest rates, many have actually not, and their opportunity is fast falling. Read source
Dec
Government, Fannie Mae Considering Help for Housing Investors
Multiple sources now tell me that the Administration is considering ways to get more investors into the housing market, possibly with the help of Fannie and Freddie. HUD would not confirm that, but Fannie Mae’s chief economist Doug Duncan said it is definitely on the table both at HUD and at Fannie. Read source
Dec
Principal Writedowns Happen, Just Not Through Government
A Wall Street Journal article Wednesday began, “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in talks with Obama administration officials to join fledgling government programs aimed at reducing loan balances of mortgages where borrowers owe more than their homes are worth.” They may be in talks, but the talks clearly aren’t going well. Read source
Dec
Why Care About Negative Equity?
Just because you owe more on your mortgage than your home is worth doesn’t necessarily mean that you are no longer able to afford your mortgage. For many Americans who bought their homes during the housing boom, little has changed for them financially other than what the appraiser has determined on paper. What has changed [...]
Dec
August 2010 Jobs Report Pushes Mortgage Rates Higher
On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases Non-Farm Payrolls data for the month prior. The data is more commonly called “the jobs report” and it’s a major factor in setting mortgage rates for residents of California and homeowners everywhere. Especially today, considering the economy. This is because, although it’s [...]
Dec
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : September 7, 2010
Last week was a roller-coaster ride in the conforming mortgage market. After opening the week by making new, all-time lows, markets reversed sharply on better-than-expected data in manufacturing and housing, and data from overseas. Rates rose through Wednesday and Thursday, then Friday’s jobs report sent rates jumping. Last week marked the first time that mortgage [...]
Dec
Home Sales Are Back On The Rise After A 2-Month Pullback
Just one week after reports of Existing Home Sales and New Home Sales plunging, the housing market is signaling that auturm may fare better than did summer. The number of homes under contract to sell rose 5 percent in July. The data comes from the July Pending Home Sales Index, as published by the National [...]
Dec
Which Model Is More Accurate : The Case-Shiller Index Or The Home Price Index?
The private-sector Case-Shiller Index reported home values up 5 percent nationwide in June. The government’s own Home Price Index, however, reached a different conclusion. According to the Federal Home Finance Agency, month-to-month home values fell 0.3 percent in June, and values are down by 1.7 percent from June 2009. So, as a home buyer and/or [...]
Dec
Your ARM Is Adjusting Lower. Is There A Downside To Letting It?
When adjustable-rate mortgages are on the verge of adjusting, a common concern among homeowners is that their mortgage rates will adjust higher. Well, this year, because of the math of how ARMs adjust, homeowners in Lodi and around the country are seeing that mortgage rates on ARMs can sometimes adjust lower, too. Adjusting conforming mortgages [...]
Dec
How Can Central Valley Residents Recapture Their Castle?
There’s an old saying that a man’s home is his castle. Or to put it in today’s language “A man or woman’s home is their castle.” Is this statement really true and if it is not how can we as residents of the Central Valley recapture the elements of a castle in our own homes? [...]