New Study Shows Impact of Government Fees On Home Affordability
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007The National Association of Home Builders sponsors an economic
publication for the housing industry which publishes at
HousingEconomics.com. In mid-July it released a study on
Metropolitan Area House Prices and Affordability written by
Elliot F. Eisenberg, Ph.D.
One cannot deny that the study is self-serving, but the findings are
at least a little revealing of some of the reasons that housing prices,
particularly of new houses, continue to climb in a tough market.
Housing News Turns The Stock Market To Mush
Friday, July 27th, 2007It’s been a rough week for the housing market. Homebuilder confidence
is in the gutter, existing home sales fell substantially and the bad news
emanating from the subprime debacle continues top headlines. Now we have
new home sales and builders reporting earnings.
Home Prices Hold Their Own As Existing Home Sales Fall
Thursday, July 26th, 2007There was mixed news on the existing housing front in last month. The
monthly survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) ® showed the
sales of existing homes, including single-family houses,
townhouses, condos, and co-ops declined 3.8 percent off of the pace in
May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million units. This is a
decline of 11.4 percent from annualized June 2006 sales of 6.49 million
units.
“Home buyers have been getting mixed signals about the
housing market, which is causing some of them to hesitate,” Lawrence Yun,
NAR senior economist, said. Two bright spots in the June
report are…
Mortgage Rates Virtually Unchanged From Previous Week
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007In perhaps the only good news in the mortgage and real estate worlds
this week, both long and short term interest rates for the week ended
July 19 barely budged from their positions a week earlier.
With
hedge funds that had heavily invested in residential
">mortgage-backed securities literally bleeding dry and
subprime lenders announcing severely reduced earnings expectations,
layoffs, or worse, more or less static interest rates had to be seen as
good news.
Subprime Mess Continues To Wreak Havoc on the Mortgage Market
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007…on Tuesday Countrywide reported a 33 percent drop in net income for
the second quarter and announced that payments were delinquent on nearly
24 percent of its subprime mortgage loans compared to 15.33 percent at
the same time in 2006. More disquieting, there is evidence that problems
in the company’s subprime sector appear to have spread to their
higher rated prime loans, specifically home equity
products on which 4.56 percent of customers were behind in payments
compared to 1.77 percent during the same period last year.
Another lender is still alive but retrenching. Indymac Bank
announced late last week that…
More Help Now Available For Those Facing Foreclosure
Monday, July 23rd, 2007A lot of people are getting nervous about their mortgages, and some
have real reason to worry as they approach the reset
dates on their adjustable rate, interest only, or option payment
loans.
We have talked before about avoiding foreclosure but it is probably
time to do so again. Fortunately, there are a few new options out there
for homeowners who are in trouble or fear they soon may be…
Loans : Personal Loans, Secured Loans, Cheap Loan Quotes…
Monday, July 23rd, 2007The Personal Loan Store offers comparisons of the loans, personal and secured loans. Also offers tips, articles and latest loan
Mortgage 101
Monday, July 23rd, 2007No doubt, getting a mortgage can be a daunting experience. Because your whole financial profile will be under scrutiny, you
Mortgage 102
Monday, July 23rd, 2007Steps to Your Home Loan… 1.      Choose a Loan – This is the prequalification process. You’ll discover how much house
Builders Confidence Hits 26 Year Low as Permits and Starts Fall Again
Friday, July 20th, 2007The homebuilding industry is obviously in distress. But, in testimony
before the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke made an interesting statement about employment in the home-
building industry. Remarking that there was a bit of
a “puzzle” about government unemployment reports which…