On Friday, several U.S. representatives announced the introduction of the bill titled “Homeownership Opportunities Act” (H.R. 2929), for the purpose of bringing a pre-tax savings program to help prospective home buyers save for a down payment more efficiently. Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV) expressed in a statement that as many young home buyers and even families…
Metrostudy, a real estate consulting firm based in Houston, analyzes the health of the residential market in metropolitan areas across the U.S. and issued prescient warnings about the coming housing bust as early as 2004. One of its main analytical tools is what makes Metrostudy interesting: drive-bys. Employees drive through newly built—or still being built—home…
In mid-July, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke attempted to soothe the markets’ fears about home loan rate increases. As a result, Bond prices bounced higher from lows not seen in two years, and Stocks traded at all-time highs. Indeed home loan rates have certainly moved up a little, down a little. Bernanke also repeated that…
When Los Angeles resident Jung Lim went shopping for a bigger house for his expanding family, his lender offered him an adjustable-rate mortgage with an interest rate about a percentage point cheaper than a fixed loan. The professor of dentistry figures the money he’ll save makes up for the extra risk. At the height of…
The last full week of July has been a quiet one for mortgage-related news, but next week could be a very different story. In terms of macro-economic developments which could affect mortgage rates, the last one of any significance came on July 16 with the announcement of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase for June.…
While rates have increased in the past month, it has caused a number of fence sitters to jump into the mortgage market. While many are prospective homebuyers, some looking to refinance are also exploring their options. First, jumping into the responsibility of home buying should be based on the merits of homeownership not on trying…
Home prices in the 20 biggest cities rose 2.4 percent from April to May, according to the monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, with a 2 percent monthly gain in the Washington market. Compared with May 2012, prices in those same 20 cities rose an average of 12.2 percent, nearly double the 6.5 percent annual gain…
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it will leave interest rates unchanged and continue to buy $85 billion in bonds every month while the economy continues to improve at a “modest” pace. The Fed will only begin pulling back on its stimulus program if the data points continue to improve. Stocks are off the highs of…
U.S. 30-year mortgage rates fell to the lowest in three weeks, reducing borrowing costs for homebuyers as the residential-property market strengthens. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.31 percent in the week ended today from 4.37 percent, McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac said in a statement. The average 15-year rate slipped to…
Mortgage rates may be inching up, but they have not put a damper on the American housing market’s rebound. Housing Numbers Reassure Investors (June 26, 2013) The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index on Tuesday showed a 12 percent increase in prices in 20 cities from April 2012 to April 2013, the largest gain…
1. Don’t buy if you can’t stay put. If you can’t commit to remaining in one place for at least a few years, then owning is probably not for you, at least not yet. With the transaction costs of buying and selling a home, you may end up losing money if you sell any sooner…