Andy's Blog

A Decade of Dramatic Developments At the beginning of the 21st century, most home buyers had never viewed a home online; the three top home sale marketing methods were yard signs, newspaper ads, and open houses; and nearly nine out of 10 buyers financed their purchase with a fixed-rate, 30-year m...

Consumer Enthusiasm Up Slightly Consumers are more optimistic about the economy than they have been in the last year, according to the monthly consumer confidence survey by research group the Conference Board. The Conference Board's index rose to 52.9 in December, above its level a year ago, but ...

Loan Modifications Hit Credit Scores Applying for a mortgage modification and being in a months-long trial period can devastate a home owner's credit score. Under the government plan, troubled borrowers can have their mortgage payments reduced to 31 percent of their pre-tax income. They are first...

Buyer Tax Credit Could Be Renewed Again  Will the housing tax credit be extended again - past the current April 30 deadline? Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican and former real estate practitioner, swore in October that there would be no more extensions, but some observers predict that the ...

Study: Homeownership Rate Likely to Drop Federal Reserve Bank of New York economists predict a decline in the U.S. homeownership rate as Americans spend the next several years trying to rebuild their equity. The worst recession since the Great Depression, punctuated by a foreclosure epidemic, dro...

Interest Rates Predicted to Reach 6% Interest rates are likely to rise to 6 percent by the end of 2010, predicted Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac.The end of the Federal Reserve program that buys mortgage-backed securities will drive rates higher because private buyers will ...

Census: Americans Stayed Put in 2009 Fewer Americans moved in 2009 than any other year this decade, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this month. Population also grew less this year than any other year since the turn of the 21st Century. It reached 307 million on July 1, up less than 1 percent from...

Misuse of Home Buyer Tax Credit Reported A report earlier this month from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration estimates that 73,799 taxpayers have incorrectly claimed the first-time home buyer tax credit. The report concludes: "The IRS is unable to verify eligibility for the maj...

Economy Improving in 4th Quarter The economy grew 2.2 percent in the third quarter. The U.S. Commerce Department had previously estimated a 2.8 percent growth rate. Officials attributed the discrepancy to consumer caution, saying that consumers simply didn't spend as much. Many analysts still bel...

Another Big Gain in Existing-Home Sales Existing-home sales rose again in November as first-time buyers rushed to close sales before the original Nov. 30 deadline for the recently extended and expanded tax credit, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Existing-home sales - including...