Mortgages and Real Estate
Pending Home Sale Numbers Suggest Many Sales Ahead
Who holds the crystal ball on the real estate market? Well, the National Association of Realtors(R) thinks it does. And it's not off-base; NAR's monthly pending home sales report, which the trade group calls a "forward looking indicator" does provide a pretty good read on what's coming down the pike in the real estate market. You see, homes sales can't be measured in real time, as it takes between 30 and 60 days, on average, for a buyer and seller to actually transfer the home. (Of course, short sales and foreclosures can take longer to close -- much longer, sometimes.)Don't Worry About Mortgage Interest Deduction Disappearing Soon
A recent survey found that around three-quarters of home owners and two-thirds of renters said the mortgage interest deduction (MID) is important to them. Of course, the survey was conducted by the pro-homeowner National Association of Realtors.Housing Reports: What the Real Estate and Mortgage Numbers Mean for You
Many a savvy real estate consumer has had their head spun by the dizzying array of sometimes-contradictory housing market reports that come out on a seemingly constant basis. Sales are up, then down, and so are prices (both up and down) -- same for interest rates. Often, these data reports are published within days of each other, but to be fair, they are published by different entities using different data metrics and often reporting on different time frames.V.A. Home Loans a Good Deal for Veterans
In a housing market convulsed by tight credit, flattened prices and weak home sales, there is a silver lining for one segment of the market: U.S. military veterans seeking V.A. home loans.
Most honorably discharged veterans are eligible for Department of Veteran Affairs home loans. What's the appeal? Even borrowers with no down payment or a less-than-ideal credit score can qualify. Veterans can borrow up to $417,000 (or more if the buyer lives in a county with higher average home costs.). Borrowers pay no private mortgage insurance. The V.A. sets limits on closing costs and origination and appraisal fees. All in all, it makes for getting a leg up in a market where lenders have clamped down hard.
Extreme(ly Smart) Home Selling: Reverse Offers
Many an American home seller is wondering, to paraphrase the '60s song, "where have all the buyers gone?" With no more tax credit, mortgage guidelines still strict and unemployment holding its steady grip on the economy, buyers who are ready, willing and able to make an offer to buy a home are more scarce than a Kardashian without a reality show.At the beginning of the housing crisis, sellers turned to gimmicky tricks like YouTube love letters about their homes and burying St. Christopher's figurines upside down in the front yard to try to move their homes off the market. These days, though, sellers are getting smarter and more strategic, turning the transaction on its head to get buyers off the fence with a phenomenon called the reverse offer.
Feds Target Multiple Mortgage Relief Scams
Jorgen Wouters
Nov 22nd 2010 @ 12:00PM EST
Filed Under: Borrowing, Debt, Family Money, Fraud, Consumer Ally, Mortgages
A rogue's gallery of more than a dozen mortgage relief scammers have been charged with deceiving desperate homeowners in a string of separate crackdowns by the Federal Trade Commission.These law enforcement actions represent the latest fruits of the FTC's ongoing onslaught against scams targeting homeowners who've fallen behind in their mortgage payments or face foreclosure.
Report: Homes as Affordable as They've Been in 20 Years
When I first became interested in real estate, rates were right around 7%(-ish). And every time rates appeared to be creeping up, my Dad would holler, "Back in the day, rates were 14% -- and people still bought houses right and left! People have to have a place to live, no matter what rates are like."While that's true "back in the day," homes routinely went for $40,000 or $75,000. These days, the median home price is around $177,000 and in my neck of the woods, the median is upwards of $600,000. Seven percent of that is vastly higher and much more prohibitive to home ownership, than 14% of $40,000.
Foreclosure Scandal Poses Severe Economic Threat, Report Says
Fallout from the ongoing "robo-signing" foreclosure scandal may cost major banks billions, shake the foundations of the fragile housing market and threaten the stability of the U.S. economy, warns a new report from a congressional watchdog.The Congressional Oversight Panel's November report, "Examining the Consequences of Mortgage Irregularities for Financial Stability and Foreclosure Mitigation," spells out best- and worst-case scenarios, though the picture is grim if the latter plays out.
Why You Should Buy a House Now
OK, we get that you want to be the one guy in the universe to know precisely when housing prices have reached bottom before you buy. Well, the logic of multi-millionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson may just shut you up.He says that today's record-low interest rates make this the best time to buy homes in 50 years. In fact, his advice is: "If you don't own a home, buy one," Paulson said. "If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home."
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Feds Target Multiple Mortgage Relief Scams
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Jorgen WoutersNov 19th 2010 @ 1:45PM Filed Under: Borrowing, Debt, Family Money, Fraud, Consumer Ally, Mortgages
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Interest Rates
| Type | Current | APR |
|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed mtg | 4.74% | 4.89% |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.42% | 3.27% |
| $30K HELOC | 5.08% | 0.00% |
| 36 month new car loan | 5.34% | 0.00% |
| 1 yr CD | 0.90% | 0.91% |
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