Mar
The Federal Reserve is meeting and what it means to your mortgage rate.
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 not the [...]
Mar
Market Snapshot
Mortgage Bonds started out the morning down, but have since improved to near unchanged levels. Stocks, on the other hand, are starting off higher and are trying to make it five straight days of gains. Helping Stocks was an announcement that Barclays Bank is off to a strong start for 2009. Additionally, in a rare [...]
Mar
Market Snapshot
Mortgage Bonds have already traded in a wild range this morning. The good news is that prices have managed to remain above an important level of support, despite the volatile trading. Adding to the volatility is news that China is concerned the US may be spending too aggressively on the recession, which may lead to [...]
Mar
The half truth of the headline “1 in 8 U.S. Homes are late paying or in foreclosure”
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 by the press. [...]
Mar
Homes listed for sale plummet across 96% of major U.S. markets
If you ask 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 [...]
Mar
Five Cities Receive ‘Ambassador’ Designation
Five cities have been designated as 2009 Ambassador Cities by NAR and the US Conference of Mayors for expanding affordable housing opportunities.
Mar
Market Snapshot
In early trading this morning, the Dow fell below 7,000 for the first time since 1997, as Stocks are trading lower on fears that the recession is getting worse. Also pressuring Stocks lower is news that insurance giant AIG lost more than $61 Billion in the 4th quarter of 2008–which is the biggest loss ever [...]