Several Fed Members Open To New Stimulus, But When?
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!The Federal Open Market Committee released its April 2012 meeting minutes this week, revealing a Federal Reserve in the ready in the event additional monetary stimulus is needed. The Fed Minutes function much like the minutes from a business meeting or a homeowners association meeting. It’s... [Read more of this blog post]
Single-Family Housing Starts Rise In Preparation For Summer
The new construction housing market continues to improve. One day after the National Association of Homebuilders reported a 5-year high in homebuilder confidence, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that single-family housing starts rose 2 percent for the second straight month last month. In April, on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, the government reports 492,000 single-family... [Read more of this blog post]
Homebuilder Confidence Climbs To 5-Year High In May 2012
Homebuilder Confidence is on the rise once again. After a brief dip in April, the National Association of Homebuilders reports that the Housing Market Index rose 5 points in May to 29. The increase marks the sharpest climb in homebuilder confidence on a month-to-month basis in 10 years, and raises the index to a 5-year high. The Housing Market Index is scored from 1-100.... [Read more of this blog post]
Home Affordability Improves Once Again Thanks To Greece
Home affordability once again is receiving a boost from across the Atlantic Ocean this spring. For the third time in as many years, a weakening Eurozone is pushing May mortgage rates to new lows throughout Northwest Indiana and suburbs of Chicago Illinois. The story centers in Greece and began in 2010. 2 years ago, it was uncovered that successive Greece governments had... [Read more of this blog post]
The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: May 14, 2012
Mortgage markets worsened slightly last week as positive U.S. economic news overshadowed growing concerns for the Eurozone’s future. Political and economic issues continue to weigh on Greece and Spain, and it’s still unknown how France’s new President will change that nation’s fiscal direction. Conforming mortgage rates in Northwest Indiana and... [Read more of this blog post]
Mortgage Rates Hit Rock-Bottom Again, But For How Long?
Conforming mortgage rates continue to drop. For the second straight week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to a new, all-time low nationwide. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate dropped 1 basis point to 3.83% this week for borrowers willing to pay 0.7 discount points plus a full set of closing costs. The... [Read more of this blog post]
Improving Markets Increase 8 Times Since September 2011
The economic recovery continues nationwide, but the recovery’s an uneven one. Some metropolitan areas are faring very well this year, posting measurable gains in both employment and housing. Other metropolitan areas, by contrast, are struggling. To help identify those markets in which growth is occurring, the National Association of Homebuilders created the Improving... [Read more of this blog post]
Don’t Rush To Refinance Your ARM, LIBOR is Low
Is your mortgage scheduled to adjust this season? You may want to let it. This year’s ARM-holding homeowners in Northwest Indiana and suburbs of Chicago Illinois are finding out that an adjusting mortgage may be the simplest way to get access to today’s low mortgage rates — without paying the closing costs. Currently, conventional adjustable-rate mortgages... [Read more of this blog post]
Reverse Mortgage – Don’t Believe the Hype, Learn the Facts
Despite several big-name banks pulling the product from their respective home loan offerings, reverse mortgages remain a popular mortgage choice among homeowners aged 62 or over. A reverse mortgage is exactly what it sounds like — a mortgage in reverse. Rather than borrow a fixed amount of money then pay that loan balance down to zero as with a “forward”... [Read more of this blog post]
