Monthly Archives: April 2010

Earlier this week, Standard & Poors released its February Case-Shiller Index, a home price tracker for select metropolitan areas. Overwhelmingly, home values fell in the 20 markets tracked by the Case-Shiller. Only San Diego showed a modest increase. The other … Continue reading →

Today, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-to-1 to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within in its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. In its press release, the FOMC noted that, since March, the U.S. economy “has continued to … Continue reading →

The Federal Reserve adjourns from a scheduled, 2-day meeting today. It’s one of 8 scheduled Fed meetings for 2010. Upon adjournment, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke & Co. will release a formal statement to the market. In it, the Fed is … Continue reading →

The sales of newly-built homes soared in March. Even more than what was expected. But the news may not be as glowing as what the media is telling us. Take a look at the headlines from last Friday: Sales of … Continue reading →

Mortgage markets worsened last week in see-saw trading. By the time Friday’s market closed, mortgage rates were higher across the board — ARMs, fixed rates, FHA and conventional. The biggest stories of last week were actually non-stories. First, the ash … Continue reading →

Existing Home Sales rose in March, as expected. U.S. home buyers closed on 7 percent more homes as compared to February. Furthermore, versus March 2009 — a month many people equate to the low point of the U.S. economy — … Continue reading →

More than 60 percent of U.S. homes are “over-assessed”, says an industry trade group. Homeowners pay more in property taxes than they otherwise should have to. You might be one of them. Have you considered fighting your real estate tax … Continue reading →

Mortgage rates and home affordability have improved lately, thanks to an unlikely ally — Mother Nature. In the 7 days since Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull erupted, ash clouds have grounded planes, disrupted businesses, and stranded exports in warehouses worldwide. It’s a drag … Continue reading →

After a strong March showing and a surprise upward-revision for February, Housing Starts are, once again, trending better. It’s yet another signal that the housing market nationwide is stabilized. A Housing Start is a new home on which construction has … Continue reading →

Mortgage markets improved last week for the second week in a row. And, also for the second week in a row, rates were down on “safe haven” buying — just not for the same safe haven reasons as before. If … Continue reading →