Monthly Archives: June 2007

Square footage of a home is a matter of debate — a homeowner measures it one way, a real estate agent another way, and an appraiser a third way. The local tax assessor has his own method, too. So, who … Continue reading →

An interesting feature of interest only loans is that your payment is re-calculated each month based on how much money you are borrowing. The industry term for the re-calculation is “recasting”. When an extra principal payment is made on an … Continue reading →

The American Consumer keeps spending. This morning, the monthly Retail Sales report showed a larger-than-expected jump. Even after stripping out elevated gas prices, the sales increase was more than double the expected amount. The economy surges ahead, fueled by everyday … Continue reading →

If you ever wanted proof that mortgage rates react to global events, the past four days are it. Worldwide, investors are shunning the United States mortgage market in search of higher returns elsewhere. The more they sell, the worse mortgage … Continue reading →

After a semi-calm start, last week ended terribly for mortgage rate shoppers highlighted (lowlighted?) by Thursday’s mortgage bond market crash. The drubbing Thursday was the worst day for the bond market in three years and is one of the reasons … Continue reading →

Yesterday was the single worst day for mortgage rates in more than four years. Because so few homeowners understand how mortgage rates are determined, a day like yesterday may have little context. So, let’s try to put it in perspective. … Continue reading →

This is just a quick reminder to ignore national news stories about real estate. It may sound like strange advice, but real estate is a highly local phenomenon. The “national scene” is comprised of data from: 50 states, with More … Continue reading →

Behold the power of the English language. With just five words, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rattled markets yesterday. In discussing how housing has slumped (and may continue to slump), Bernanke cited that weakness in the sector should not hold … Continue reading →

Have you ever wondered how much your coffee habit is costing you? Courtesy of software developer Hugh Chou, use the Coffee Calculator to calculate how much you pay for coffee each year, and how much money you forgo in savings … Continue reading →

Another week, another vicious rise in mortgage rates. There just wasn’t enough “bad” news to reverse the market’s recent trend to the upside. There were three notable pieces of news from last week: The Fed’s May meeting minutes revealed a … Continue reading →