Monthly Archives: July 2010

The Fed’s June Minutes Keep Mortgage Rates In Rally-Mode

According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates made new all-time lows this week and the good news is that rates look poised to fall even more. Since the Federal Reserve’s release of its June 2010 meeting minutes Wednesday, mortgage rates are … Continue reading

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Foreclosure Activity Slows Again In June 2010

313,841 foreclosure filings were made in June, according to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac. The figure represents a 3 percent drop from May and 7 percent drop from June of last year. However, foreclosure filings remain relatively high nationwide. June marks the … Continue reading

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Mandatory Loan Fees Keep Borrowers From Getting The “Absolute Lowest Rate”

Conforming mortgage rates may be posting all-time lows this week, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be eligible for them. You may have already called your loan officer and found this out the hard way. It’s because of a federally-mandated mortgage-pricing … Continue reading

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Should You Refinance Your ARM, Or Let It Adjust Lower?

If your adjustable rate mortgage is due to adjust this year, don’t go rushing to replace it just yet. Your soon-to-adjust mortgage rate may actually go lower. It’s related to the math behind the ARM. Conventional, adjustable-rate mortgages share a … Continue reading

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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : July 11, 2010

Mortgage markets improved again last week — if only barely — throughout a holiday-shortened week devoid of “major” data and market conviction. Up-and-down trading characterized the week which ended with mortgage rates slightly lower versus the week prior. Mortgage rates … Continue reading

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The Flawed Home Price Index Shows Home Values Up 0.8 Percent

Last week, the Case-Shiller Index reported home values up 0.8 percent across 20 tracked markets. The public-sector Federal Housing Finance Agency has reached a similar conclusion. Reporting on a two-month lag, the government’s Home Price Index shows home values up … Continue reading

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Household Finances : Which Bills Should I Pay First?

Morning television can be “light”, but as far as personal finance interviews go, this Suze Orman segment from The Today Show is loaded with practical financial planning advice. Titled “What Should You Do First?”, Ms. Orman addressed the real-life, money … Continue reading

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June’s Jobs Report Wasn’t As Bad As The Headlines (And How You Can Take Advantage)

In June, for the first time since December 2009, the U.S. workforce shrank. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy shed 125,000 jobs last month even as the Unemployment Rate dropped to 9.5 percent. The drop in the … Continue reading

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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : July 6, 2010

Mortgage markets improved last week as economic data revealed a slowing U.S. economy. Major stock indices fell to 2010 lows in response to a weak jobs report among other data points, forcing worldwide investors into the relative safety of U.S. … Continue reading

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Was The Pending Home Sales Report Really That Bad? It Depends Who You Ask — Buyer Or Seller.

The Pending Home Sales Index plunged in May 2010, just one month after the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit program. The Pending Home Sales Index is now at a record-low level. A “pending home sale” is an … Continue reading

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