From the category archives:

Mortgage Information

FHA Mortgage Insurance Hike April 1

The Federal Housing Administration is following through with its pledge to increase upfront and annual mortgage insurance premiums on its single-family business. Starting April 1, FHA will hike its upfront premium to 1.75% (it had been 1%). This fee is ADDED to the loan amount when the borrower closes on the loan. While it’s not [...]

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The Housing Market Update

Pending Home Sales Rise to Near Two-Year High: Signed contracts for U.S. home resales rose to a nearly two-year high in January, further evidence of a budding recovery in the housing market. The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in January, increased 2 percent to 97.0 — [...]

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With Retail Sales And Consumer Confidence Rising, Home Prices Are Expected To Follow

The U.S. economy continues to show signs of a rebound. According to the Census Bureau, Retail Sales climbed to $329 billion last month on a seasonally-adjusted basis, excluding automobiles. January’s data marks the 18th time in 19 months that Retail Sales rose, a run that’s increased total sales receipts by 11 percent. This is big [...]

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New Homes Data Shows More Gains

The Commerce Department said Thursday that builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000 homes in January. That's up 1.5 percent from December and reached the highest level since December 2008. Construction began work on 508,000 single-family homes last month and December single-family homes were revised up strongly to show builders started [...]

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Fewer Jobless Claims Suggests Higher Home Prices Ahead

Economists believe the strength of the 2012 housing market will be closely tied to jobs. If they’re right, the housing market is ripe for a boost. It spells good news for Dallas home sellers and may mean the end of bargain-basement prices for buyers. Since peaking in mid-2009, the number of U.S. workers filing for [...]

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Federal Tax Deadline Extended To April 17, 2012

Traditionally, federal income taxes must be filed with the IRS on, or before, April 15 each year. The date has become such a part of U.S. culture that many people simply call it “Tax Day”. This year, however, for the 3rd time in 7 years, your federal income taxes will not be due April 15. [...]

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Inflation Creeping Back Into The Picture

This week we see inflation creeping back into the picture. Both the core producer and consumer price indices came in higher than expected, with the year-over-year core consumer index rising to the highest level since October of 2008. Add to this the fact that housing starts and building permits were better than estimates, and initial [...]

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Banks Start To Loosen Up In Underwriting

After a half-decade of tightening mortgage guidelines, banks are starting to “loosen up”. The Federal Reserve conducts a quarterly survey of its member banks and, last quarter, not a single responding bank reported having tightened its mortgage guidelines for prime borrowers. A “prime borrower” is defined as one with a well-documented credit history, high credit [...]

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Housing Market Picture Brightens with Job Gains

Hou sing demand is driven primarily by two factors (neither is interest rate): Consumer Sentiment and Employment Stability. So, the surprisingly strong Nonfarm Payroll data is certainly good news for the housing industry. What Happened to Rates Last Week? Mo rtgage backed securities (MBS) gained just +4 basis points from last Friday to the prior Friday [...]

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Housing And Mortgage : The Experts Make Their 2012 Predictions

As the new year begins, there are no shortage of stories telling us what to expect in 2012. Housing finished 2011 with momentum and mortgage rates closed at the lowest rates of all time. Some expect those trends to continue through the first quarter and beyond. Others expect a rapid reversal. Who’s right and who’s [...]

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