From the Associated Press: WASHINGTON —Average rates on fixed mortgages rose this week, the first increase in seven weeks. But mortgage rates remain near historic lows, boosting prospects for home sales this year. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the...
I have been converting to a new computer, and it caused an accidental cancellation of the previous post and comments. Here is a repeat of the post, the comments were great from what I remember! A few people who stopped by the booth over the weekend were happy to...
Hat tip to Booty Juice for supplying more evidence on the impact of mortgage rates on home prices. http://seekingalpha.com/article/278146-interest-rates-do-not-affect-home-prices An excerpt: At first glance, this is one of those things that makes perfect sense: The...
Rich T. noted that in the past there hasn't been a significant relationship between rates and pricing: There's actually very little correlation between interest rates and home valuations, and if anything, homes have tended to get more expensive in rising rate...
From MND: President Barack Obama signed a bill Friday that reinstates the recently expired higher loan limits that were in effect for FHA and VA loans through December 31, 2013 but does not provide this extension to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. H.R. 2112 sponsored by...
From Reuters: Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress have agreed on a measure that would increase the maximum size of mortgage loans that can be insured by the Federal Housing Administration, a key funding source for U.S. home loans. The measure to raise the...
Although NAR is urging realtors to contact their congress-people to whine about how lowering the loan limits will cause the world to end, it appears that Fannie/Freddie/FHA max loan amounts will be dropping next week. Hat tip to DS for sending this along, from Yahoo...
Excerpted from the latimes.com: The Federal Reserve's latest effort to prop up the economy has dropped mortgages into once unthinkable territory, with 30-year fixed-rate loans available for less than 4% — a record low. For people lucky enough to still have their...
Three people have already sent me copies of the N. Y. Times' article on lower loan amounts. We've already covered it here, but let's look at a simple comparison, using WFB rates at 1 point cost: Monthly payments on $697,500 at today's 4.625% super-conforming rate =...
Hat tip to DB for sending this along, from Reuters: Bethany and Karl Schreiber are hunting for a nice big house in the pricey Washington, D.C., suburbs and they are facing a deadline: In just a few months their third child will be born, and the tiny two-bedroom...
