Category Archives: Mortgages

Snap back to reality

Posted on August 14, 2019 by grim

From Mortgage Professional America: Homeowners are getting really good at valuing their homes The gap between the value homeowners put on their refinance mortgage applications and the value assessed by professional appraisers has narrowed for the third straight month. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 38 Comments

Gettin risky with it

Posted on June 11, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: FHA is increasing lending to riskier borrowers Citing rising risks among the mortgages it is backing, the Federal Housing Administration earlier this year announced that it was changing some of its lending rules to increase the prevalence of manual underwriting. The idea behind the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 249 Comments

Refi window opens again

Posted on April 1, 2019 by grim

From Housingwire: Here’s how many borrowers should refinance after the recent drop in mortgage rates Mortgage rates fell 22 basis points last week to 4.06%, an event that will likely be a gamechanger for the refinance market. According to the latest report … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 102 Comments

FHA getting a bit too risky

Posted on March 26, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: FHA says as many as 50,000 mortgages will be affected by new lending rules Two weeks ago, the Federal Housing Administration took steps to mitigate risks to its single-family portfolio, announcing updates to its TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard that will flag some loans … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 99 Comments

Home sales … skyrocket?

Posted on March 23, 2019 by grim

From CNBC: Home sales make record jump, proving how sensitive buyers are to mortgage rates Sales of existing homes skyrocketed a whopping 11.8 percent in February compared with January, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is the largest … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 19 Comments

Facebook attempts to stop discrimination, after supporting it, and profiting from it, for years.

Posted on March 20, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: Facebook making massive changes to ad platform after being accused of enabling housing discrimination Facebook is making significant changes to its advertising platform after the social media monolith was accused of enabling discrimination in housing, employment, and lending. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 47 Comments

Crisis officially over?

Posted on March 13, 2019 by grim

From Inman: Delinquency rates fall to pre-housing crisis levels: CoreLogic The number of homeowners failing to make mortgage payments has dipped to levels unseen since before the 2008 housing crisis. Nationwide, only 4.1 percent of homeowners were delinquent on their mortgage in December, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 61 Comments

Housing to get more expensive in 2019

Posted on January 2, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: CoreLogic: Home prices will rise in 2019 In 2018, the principal-and-interest mortgage payment on the median-priced home climbed by more than 16%, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. CoreLogic reports that although the median home price rose … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 66 Comments

Realtors no longer positive on housing?

Posted on November 30, 2018 by grim

From Marketwatch: Why 2019 won’t lead to a home buyer’s market As 2018 winds to a close, the housing market has shown signs of a slowdown. Throughout this year, observers have begun to speculate that the country’s housing market may … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 69 Comments

The big slow continues

Posted on November 27, 2018 by grim

From CNBC: Home price gains shrink to the lowest level since January 2017: September S&P Case-Shiller index Home values are still rising, but the gains have now shrunk to the lowest level since January 2017, as rising mortgage rates cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 169 Comments

Buyers prefer used houses

Posted on November 20, 2018 by grim

From the USA Today: Rising mortgage rates, home prices are becoming a toxic cocktail in the housing market Rising mortgage rates and continued home price growth are hurting affordability and fast becoming a toxic cocktail for the nation’s homebuilders. Sentiment … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate, New Development | 74 Comments

Home price growth continues to slow

Posted on October 31, 2018 by grim

From CNBC: Home price gains fall below 6% for the first time in a year: August S&P Case-Shiller index Mortgage interest rates didn’t begin their recent surge until the start of September, but home prices were already feeling pressure, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 162 Comments

Kaboom! Err, a new boom.

Posted on October 21, 2018 by grim

From HousingWire: TransUnion: Home equity lending is going to soar Home equity levels continue to rise, and all signs point to a market ripe for home equity lending, according to a recent report from consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion. Home … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 42 Comments

Buy! No, rent! No, buy!

Posted on October 18, 2018 by grim

From the Real Deal: More than 75% of Americans choose renting a home over buying: report Fewer Americans are in the home-buying mood. Rising interest rates and housing prices prices, coupled with slowing rent growth are making homeownership less attractive. … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 94 Comments

Oh baby, now we’re talking

Posted on October 13, 2018 by grim

From CNBC: Thousands line up for zero-down-payment, subprime mortgages Magdalene Altidor lost her home to foreclosure during the subprime mortgage crisis, but this week she was first in line at a four-day event in Miami where borrowers with poor credit … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 16 Comments