Tue, Aug 22 2006, 7:00 AM
It's that time again. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
and the Census Department have released their monthly reports on the state
of t...
Thu, Aug 17 2006, 7:00 AM
In addition to the three witnesses from government agencies, Department
of Justice, Government Accountability Office, and Federal Trade Commission
who...
Wed, Aug 16 2006, 7:00 AM
It is hard to imagine how two organizations could deviate more on the
direction of mortgage rates than Freddie Mac and The
Mortgage Bankers Associat...
Tue, Aug 15 2006, 7:00 AM
Several things have occurred over the last week or so in the ongoing
saga of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and their financial improprieties which
date back...
Fri, Aug 11 2006, 7:00 AM
Slower economic growth and rising inflationary pressures are cited as
competing trends in the U.S. economy by Freddie Mac in its
monthly Economic Ou...
Thu, Aug 10 2006, 7:00 AM
As promised, we are continuing an account of a hearing conducted
recently by the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity of the
House Bankin...
Wed, Aug 9 2006, 7:00 AM
Mortgage rates dropped again during the week ended
August 3 and August 4, and with the announcement on August 8 that the
Federal Reserve has, for the...
Tue, Aug 8 2006, 7:00 AM
Remember our old friend Michael G. Oxley?
Recently the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
held hearings entitled " The Changin...
Thu, Aug 3 2006, 7:00 AM
And this week, they are down.
Mortgage rates , that is. The one week up, two weeks
down, two weeks up pattern continues as the markets try to ou...
Wed, Aug 2 2006, 7:00 AM
Newsweek Magazine's Tip Sheet section last week featured two Web sites that
have nothing to do with real estate or mortgage financing but may illu...
Mon, Jul 31 2006, 7:00 AM
Home buyers have waited for years but perhaps the agony is over. It is
official; the National Association of Realtors has confirmed that we are
now in...
Thu, Jul 27 2006, 7:00 AM
It was nice while it lasted - one full week to be exact - but, according
to Freddie Mac the mortgage market last week took back most of the rate
decre...
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 7:00 AM
The brutal murder of Sarah Ann Walker in McKinney, Texas early this
month has again spotlighted a perennial topic - violence against real
estate agent...
Tue, Jul 25 2006, 7:00 AM
As the recent report, Buying For Themselves: An Analysis of
Unmarried Female Home Buyers by Rachel Bogardus Drew for the Joint
Center for Housing St...
Fri, Jul 21 2006, 7:00 AM
The two monthly reports that measure the health of the home
construction industry were released this week. The U.S. Census
Bureau and U.S. Departmen...
Thu, Jul 20 2006, 7:00 AM
Who are these millions of unmarried women who have plunged into the
housing market in the last few years and what makes them different from
married co...
Wed, Jul 19 2006, 7:00 AM
Mortgage rates backed off during the week ending July
13 and 14th, declining in every category tracked by both Freddie Mac and
the Mortgage Bankers A...
Mon, Jul 17 2006, 7:00 AM
Have you noticed how many television ads for real estate and mortgage firms feature
women as the decision maker, the person who is buying or refinan...
Fri, Jul 14 2006, 7:00 AM
Back in November we reported that The President's Advisory Panel on
Federal Tax Reform had submitted recommendations to then Treasury Secretary
John S...
Thu, Jul 13 2006, 7:00 AM
This space generally reports on what is going on in the real estate and
mortgage industry; rates, suggestions on buying or selling, news about
Fannie ...
Wed, Jul 12 2006, 7:00 AM
Mortgage rates barely budged during the week ended July
6 and July 7. While the average contract rate of most products moved up,
changes were virtual...
Tue, Jul 11 2006, 7:00 AM
Freddie Mac issued its monthly "outlook" for the month of July as well
as a round-up of the first half of 2006 .
While the report still projects a ...
Mon, Jul 10 2006, 7:00 AM
If there are bright spots amidst the recent gloomy energy forecasts the
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and McGraw-Hill Construction
may ...
Fri, Jul 7 2006, 7:00 AM
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released a
very interesting report on housing affordability; one that
runs counter to most of th...
Thu, Jul 6 2006, 7:00 AM
Once again Freddie Mac and The Mortgage Bankers Association have come up
with very different results when they surveyed mortgage lenders about
rates. ...
Wed, Jul 5 2006, 7:00 AM
The usual spate of monthly reports on new home sales, existing home
sales, housing starts, and builder confidence were all released recently.
Taken to...
Thu, Jun 29 2006, 7:00 AM
So far homeowners seem to be keeping their heads above foreclosure in
spite of fears that mortgage delinquencies and
foreclosures might begin to mou...
Wed, Jun 28 2006, 7:00 AM
Freddie Mac's Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported that
mortgage rates took a real leap during the week ended June
22. Average rates for 3...
Tue, Jun 27 2006, 7:00 AM
As it does periodically, the Harvard University Joint Center for
Housing Studies has issued a report that is well worth the paper it
takes to print ...
Thu, Jun 22 2006, 7:00 AM
While a new house probably wins the functionality contest hands down
over most older homes, the latter can put up a tough fight in other areas
that ma...
Wed, Jun 21 2006, 7:00 AM
In spite of the Dog Days of Summer, mortgage activity held up fairly
well for the week ended June16, down only a tiny bit from that reported for
the p...
Tue, Jun 20 2006, 7:00 AM
You have probably seen an ad in a current series being run on behalf of
the Century 21 franchise. The series is promoting how hard their agents
work f...
Mon, Jun 19 2006, 7:00 AM
A study released last week by Global Insight and National City
Corporation titled House Prices in America concludes that in 71
metropolitan areas re...
Fri, Jun 16 2006, 7:00 AM
Hedge funds have been a big buzzword over the last decade as investors
seek to "hedge their bets" in financial markets.
The Chicago Mercantile Exc...
Thu, Jun 15 2006, 7:00 AM
Remember Franklin Raines? In December 2004 he and Timothy Howard were
very much in the news as they "retired" or "resigned" or were fired,
depending o...
Wed, Jun 14 2006, 7:00 AM
Borrowers caught a bit of a break during the weeks ended June 7 and 8.
Freddie Mac, in its Weekly Primary Mortgage Survey reported that average
mortg...
Tue, Jun 13 2006, 7:00 AM
Freddie Mac's monthly Economic Outlook for June was released last week.
In what has become a mantra, the corporations Office of the Chief
Economist, q...
Thu, Jun 8 2006, 7:00 AM
The problem with the majority of real estate surveys and reports is that
they are by definition lagging indicators. So while some "experts" are
predic...
Wed, Jun 7 2006, 7:00 AM
Rising inflation fears led to an increase in mortgage
rates across the board according to Freddie Mac's Weekly Primary
Mortgage Market Survey for th...
Tue, Jun 6 2006, 7:00 AM
So, assuming that John Talbott in his book Sell Now! has
established his case for an actual and vulnerable real estate
bubble and regardless of hi...
Fri, Jun 2 2006, 7:00 AM
One of the most vocal proponents of the Chicken Little philosophy of
real estate is John R. Talbott, who in 2003 wrote the best selling book
The Comi...
Wed, May 31 2006, 7:00 AM
Fixed rate mortgages continued to creep up during the week ended May 25
while there was a slight easing of adjustable rate products according to
the W...
Tue, May 30 2006, 7:00 AM
Maybe Fannie Mae's nightmare is over. Sort of.
According to independent and joint press releases from the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) ...
Fri, May 26 2006, 7:00 AM
T'was the best of times, t'was the worst of times.
It all depends on who you ask and when you ask them.
Two more housing surveys were released t...
Wed, May 24 2006, 7:00 AM
Mortgage rates edged up a bit during the week ended May
18 according to the Weekly Primary Mortgage Survey conducted by Freddie
Mac.
The 30-year f...
Tue, May 23 2006, 7:00 AM
The Federal Reserve in the persons of both its recently retired
long-time chairman Alan Greenspan and his newly minted replacement Ben
Bernanke have a...
Mon, May 22 2006, 7:00 AM
Further evidence that the real estate boom is
moderating came from the National Association of Realtors last week.
Quarterly figures on existing ...
Fri, May 19 2006, 7:00 AM
It does appear that the housing bubble is, if not
bursting, at least no longer expanding. For the second month in a row data
from the U.S. Census Bu...
Wed, May 17 2006, 7:00 AM
Mortgage rates were mixed for the weeks ending May 11
and May 12 according to data released in the last few days by Freddie Mac
and the Mortgage Bank...
Tue, May 16 2006, 7:00 AM
Gee it seems like only yesterday that we were talking about the newest
innovation in mortgages - the
