Historic low rates!
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Rates on the most popular types of mortgages eased a little, according to HSH.com's Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by two basis points (0.02 percent) to 3.72 percent. Conforming 5/1 Hybrid ARM rates decreased by a single basis point, closing...

Rates back down to all time lows!
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Rates have trended back down to all time low rates again!!! Call us now to lock in before they go back up!.

Housing-Bidding wars
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
The bidding wars are back. Seemingly overnight, many of the nation's major housing markets have gone from stagnant to sizzling, with for-sale listings drawing offers from a large number of house hunters.. In March, 75% of agents with broker Redfin said their clients' offers were countered by rival...

Hidden Fees for Homebuyers
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
The government insurer, which may or may not be in need of a bailout, plans to generate $10 billion by locking middle class borrowers into high fees for decades.. -This is what you call kicking 'em when they're down.. Consumers who don't have a lot of cash to put down when buying a house usually have to...

Where the mortgage interest deduction really pays.
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
The mortgage interest deduction is one of the most expensive tax breaks on the books, but its benefits are distributed unevenly across the country, according to a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts.. In 2010, the year that Pew analyzed, the mortgage deduction resulted in $80 billion of forgone revenue to the...

Home appraisals no longer derailing sales.
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Consider this one more sign that the housing market is heating up: Appraisers are putting higher values on homes again, allowing for more deals to go through.. During the housing bust, sales were often derailed by low-ball appraisals that fell far shy of a home's selling price.. For example, if a home cost...

Say goodbye to 3% mortgage rates.
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Farewell 3% mortgage ratesSay goodbye to ultra-low mortgage rates.. In the past month, rates have been on the rise and they are expected to continue to climb.. This week, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped another 10 percentage points to 3.91% and are up from 3.3% in early May, according to...

Bad credit: A deal breaker for many singles
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Bad credit: A deal breaker for many singles. First comes love ... then comes a credit check.. For many singles, bad credit can be a deal breaker when it comes to finding love. About 30% of women and 20% of men say they won't marry a person with a low credit score, according to a new survey from FreeCreditScore.com that...

Home Sales Edge Down.
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Homes sales edged down in June, coming off a six-year high in May.. The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index fell slightly in June, declining by 0.4%. The result sees home sales come off a May result that was the highest since December 2006.. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the dip in home...

Home prices surge!
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
House prices have surged in the first quarter of 2013, posting the first double-digit rise since the peak of the housing bubble.. The CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index has reported that house prices rose 10.2% in the first quarter of the year, with home prices up in more than three-quarters of metropolitan areas.. While...

Lead generation should be top priority
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Even when originators have long to-do lists, they need to make generating leads their top priority, according to two top sales coaches.. Speaking to the annual Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals, sales coach Bill Sparkman has argued that many originators spend too much time on activities that...

Closing costs up as origination fees get more expensive
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Rising origination fees are pushing up closing costs, according to new data.. Mortgage closing costs have shot up 6% over the last year to an average of $2,402, according to a lender survey by Bankrate.com. Most of the increase is due to an 8% jump in origination costs, which rose to an average of $1,730. Third-party...

Mortgage delinquencies edging down as market recovers .
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Mortgage delinquencies are dropping, with even the worst-hit states showing signs of recovery.. The mortgage delinquency rate for one- to four-unit residential properties dropped at the end of the second quarter to its lowest level since mid-2008, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's...

FHA Trims Waiting Period for Borrowers Who Experienced Foreclosure
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is allowing borrowers who went through a bankruptcy, foreclosure, deed-in-lieu, or short sale to reenter the market in as little as 12 months, according to a mortgage letter released Friday.. Borrowers who experienced a foreclosure must wait at least three years...

Home prices are going up, up, up, but it's not a bubble just yet.
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Home prices are going up, up, up, but it's not a bubble just yet.. The surge in housing prices over the past year may have some homebuyers wondering if the market has gotten ahead of itself. Rising interest rates aside, however, prices in most parts of the country appear to have plenty of room to move higher if the...

Originations spike as delinquencies dwindle
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Originations spike as delinquencies dwindle. Mortgage originations are up 10% from a year ago, according to data released Thursday by credit reporting and analytics firm Experian. Home purchases also surged in the second quarter, rising 29% from the prior quarter, while refinancings fell.. "The key statistic...

Fed's taper delay: Don't get used to it.
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
A Fed official said Friday that a small tapering of the government's bond-buying program is possible next month. His comments come after the Federal Reserve confounded investor expectations this week by deciding to leave the $85bn-per-month program in place for the time being.. James Bullard, president...

Higher rates are here to stay!!
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Higher rates here to stay!!!. Sep 26, 2013. The economy will continue to grow over the next year in spite of higher interest rates thanks to record housing affordability and other factors, according to a new report by TD Economics.. "The U.S. economy has repaired much of the damage caused by the Great Recession. The...

Government shutdown would stall FHA loans.
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
A government shutdown would halt the processing of Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages, according to a CNN report.. If Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, triggering a shutdown, applications for loans guaranteed by the FHA, the Veterans Administration and the Department of Agriculture...

Tight mortgage credit hurting the economy.
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Tightening mortgage credit standards are slowing down the housing recovery, according to two top economists.. In a paper released Monday, former White House policy advisor Jim Parrott and Moody's Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi argue that for the housing recovery to continue, mortgages must...