C21AGVoices

The above video was created by the Federal trade Commission to help people understand that dangers they face when the stress of their situation allows them to fall prey to people who would take advantage of them. Thanks to Jay Thompson at ThePhoenixRealEstateGuy for the tip!

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The national home supply is falling, down to its lowest levels since December 2008. In June, there was 9.4 months of supply, down from a year-ago level of 11.0 months. It’s one more sign that the housing market may be mending itself. Housing supply is an important metric because home values across every U.S. market […]

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Once again, the housing market is showing that its worst days may be over. According to the Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold in June leapt by 11 percent from the month prior.  It stands as the biggest one-month jump in 8 years. A “new home sale” is when a home in any […]

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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 […]

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The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged last week on June 24th within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. The Fed also reiterated its plan 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 not […]

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Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia As long as I have been in the real estate business, I have been told that real estate is an economic leader. We are first in and we are first out. A cliche that has been true in every recession I have experienced. You’ll remember that residential real estate […]

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Monday, mortgage markets improved with news of new Swine Flu cases.  It’s a classic example of Safe Haven buying and today’s rate shoppers will see the benefits. Mortgage rates improved about 0.125 percent Monday. It’s not an official term, but “Safe Haven buying” describes the trading patterns in which large numbers of investors move money […]

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The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged today within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.  The Fed also reiterated its plan to support the mortgage market to the tune of $1.5 trillion. In its press release, the FOMC noted that the economy may still be contracting, but that it’s […]

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Since 2007, foreclosures have dominated real estate news.  You can’t turn on the news or open a paper without some foreclosure-related story. But for all of the discussion, foreclosures continue to be geographically concentrated. Adding up the latest stats from RealtyTrac.com, more than half of the country’s foreclosure actions from March occurred in just 3 states — California, Florida […]

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Image by mary hodder via Flickr Congratulations! Your loan modification is almost done. Here are just a few tips to wrap up the process. You’ll receive a loan modification packet from your bank that looks very similar to loan documents. Review them to ensure the following terms are what you agreed to: Interest rate Interest […]

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