Home values as a nationwide average were reported today down 15.9% from this month last year. This is the largest decline on record.
However, the drop was less than forecast, so some economists are becoming encouraged that the end of the housing downturn may be in sight.
We are seeing signs of life in the Denver area. Many potential home buyers and investors are starting to enter into the market, fearful that they will lose ...
posted by RJ Baxter August 26, 2008 9:27 | permalink | comments(0) | Real Estate Is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Bailout Coming?
The new legislation passed by Congress recently has given treasury secretary Henry Paulson more power to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the troubled home-finance giants. Many feel that this is the first step in an ultimate government takeover of the entities.
Whether or not that happens, remains to be seen, but I wanted to post a link to a great article I found in Business Week Online on the topic. This is ...
Do you have mortgage or real estate questions? What is happening with the mortgage market today? Where are mortgage rates headed? Mortgage program questions? Wondering how the home loan process works?
Whatever your question, I am here to help! Utilize my live chat feature in the upper-right corner of this blog to enter into a live chat with me. If I'm not online, you can still use this feature to send me your questions. I will receive ...
Although unemployment numbers can sometimes be inaccurate, and are many times revised in subsequent months after the initial release, it is becoming more apparant that higher unemployment and a weak labor market is here to stay.
The unemployment figures releasted yesterday are an earmark of recession, with continuing unemployment claims well over 400,000 which is consideredd the benchmark for recession.
Many economists think unemployment will get worse before it gets better. I have ...
posted by RJ Baxter August 01, 2008 4:58 | permalink | comments(0) | Housing CrisisJune, 2008 The End of Cheap Mortgage Money?
With gas and food prices skyrocketing, and unemployment on the rise, the US Central Bank has begun to hint toward a rate hike sooner rather than later. The fear is that inflation will spiral out of control which, coupled with high unemployment, will signal stagflation.
Ben Bernanke spoke this morning, and stated that risks to a serious downturn in the economy have abated. With inflation projected to continue to rise in the coming months, ...
The Federal Reserve lowered their outlook for the remainder of 2008 in their latest release. Among other things, the FOMC is predicting higher than expected inflation and unemployment, and lower growth. They also added that the recent rate cut was a close call.
The release has led to slightly better mortgage rates.
Bonds are rallying today on the worst consumer confidence numbers in 26 years. This coupled with continued employment weakness and higher oil prices has caused a two day rally for mortgage bonds.
The party may not be over yet, however. Technical indicators point toward a potential major rally next week, and yet another refinance opportunity.
Rates are already good, but are still higher than the lows we saw in late January and March. ...
posted by RJ Baxter May 16, 2008 7:55 | permalink | comments(0) | Housing CrisisApril, 2008 Fed Policy Statement to Move Markets
The latest Fed meeting today will include, as usual, a policy statement, which is scheduled for release at 2:15 EST.
Many forecasters are expecting a .25 rate cut, but the policy statement, not the cut, may be a much larger market-mover than the actual rate decision.
Of particular importance to mortgage rates are any indication as to whether this is the end of the rate-cutting campaign, which would be bond-positive, and could ...
