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!

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

After starting the week with a run lower toward 5 percent, mortgage rates have reversed course. It started mid-day Tuesday and the culprit is Basic Economics.  Here’s why. Mortgage rates are based on the price of mortgage-backed bonds and — like most things — mortgage-backed bonds prices are based on Supply and Demand. When bond […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

Down economies reduce consumer spending, creating a bind for retailers. As excess inventory collects dust, companies have little choice but to drop prices in hopes of selling more product. For the bargain shopper with extra cash right now, there are some terrific deals to be had out there. This 4-minute piece from NBC’s The Today […]

[Read more →]

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 […]

[Read more →]

Last Tuesday — for the first time in a long while — members of the press met the monthly Case-Shiller Index data with enthusiasm. And why shouldn’t they? 19 of the 20 measured markets showed a slowing pace of home price decline in April. Here are some of the headlines about the story: Case-Shiller Home […]

[Read more →]

Motorized garden tools come in two varieties — gas-powered and electric-powered. If you take a close look, however, you’ll notice that professional landscapers and gardening experts almost always choose the gas-powered types. This is because gas-powered garden tools both outperform and outlast their electric counterparts. On the downside, they’re an environmental nightmare. According to the California […]

[Read more →]

If you’ve ever been grilling for friends or family and emptied your gas tank mid-burger, you’ll appreciate the GasWatch Propane Level Indicator and Safety Gauge. For less than $20, the fits-most-grills appliance connects between the gas tank and the regulator, clearly displaying the propane left until a refill is needed. When the needle falls to […]

[Read more →]

Last week’s jobs report is the latest data point to drag down rates for today’s home buyers and would-be refinancers. As reported by the government, the national Unemployment Rate rose to 9.5 percent in June — a 25-year high. As the percentage of out-of-work Americans grows, households have less disposable income to pump back into the […]

[Read more →]