Kara Johnson - MortgageLoan.com | December 22, 2011
Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages fell again to their lowest interest rates on record this week, dropping to an average of 3.91 percent in the weekly Freddie Mac rate survey.
Existing home sales posted a modest 4.0 percent rise in November, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million units, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced today.
Kara Johnson - MortgageLoan.com | December 20, 2011
New home construction activity picked up significantly in November, with both housing starts and building permits hitting their highest levels in over a year and half.
Home prices will likely continue to fall through next year, before finally beginning a weak recovery in 2013 or late 2012, according to the views of over 100 economic and real estate experts.
The outlook for the new home construction market is looking slightly better, though still far from an actual recovery, according to new figures from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com | December 17, 2011
Books are always a popular item at Christmas. Since we’re all about mortgages and personal finance here, we thought we’d put together a list of some of the more popular mortgage-related books for consumers this year.
Kara Johnson - MortgageLoan.com | December 16, 2011
Listed home prices have risen by over 4 percent the past 12 months, suggesting a more optimistic attitude among homesellers even as the housing market itself continues to struggle.
Scheduled foreclosure auctions surged to a 9-month high in November, suggesting that a new wave of distressed properties is about to hit an already oversaturated real estate market.
Kara Johnson - MortgageLoan.com | December 14, 2011
U.S. home values are predicted to fall another 2-4 percent nationally before bottoming out sometime next year, according to a new real estate market analysis by Zillow.
Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com | December 13, 2011
A handful of lucky homeowners have been able to reduce their mortgage debt by nearly one-third under a little-noticed provision of the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
Thinking about buying a home but afraid the housing market’s still too weak? Or maybe you’re afraid that interest rates will jump if you don’t act now? What’s the bigger risk?
Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com | December 09, 2011
Investors seeking to “flip” homes for quick profits played a significant role in driving up home prices during the housing bubble and their subsequent collapse, economists at the New York Federal Reserve have concluded.
Kara Johnson - MortgageLoan.com | December 08, 2011
Mortgage delinquencies will likely continue to fall through 2012, to about 5 percent of outstanding home loans, according to the credit reporting agency TransUnion.
Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com | December 08, 2011
If you want to get the lowest mortgage rate on a home loan, you absolutely have to shop around. Unfortunately, it seems that many women aren’t doing that.
Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com | December 07, 2011
Demand for mortgage refinancing jumped last week, with applications increasing a seasonally adjusted 15.3 percent after several weeks of declines, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced today.
Mortgage refinancing under the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) rose sharply in September, increasing 20 percent to 35,000 loans, the highest level in six months.
Kara Johnson - MortgageLoan.com | December 06, 2011
Home prices will remain largely unchanged over the coming year, despite recent signs of stirring economic activity, according to a new report from the real estate analytical firm CoreLogic.
Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com | December 06, 2011
Having a good credit score is important, particularly if you’re planning to apply for a mortgage loan, a refinance or other type of consumer loan. But there’s a lot of confusion over just what affects you credit score.
Overall U.S. consumer credit profiles have remained largely unchanged since the peak of the housing market, despite the crash and soaring numbers of foreclosures in recent years.
Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com | December 03, 2011
Can you get a loan modification on a jumbo mortgage? The answer is yes, but there are some significant differences from getting a mortgage modification on a conventional loan.
Kara Johnson - MortgageLoan.com | December 02, 2011
Two new initiatives to help guard consumers against mortgage-related abuses were launched this week by the recently established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com | December 01, 2011
December 1 is when lenders are scheduled to begin implementing the new HARP guidelines for refinancing underwater mortgages. But you might not be able to refinance that underwater loan just yet.