Carl Rizzuto's (crizzuto) Blog

Case-Shiller Shows Uneven Recovery For U.S. Housing Recent data suggests that the U.S. housing market is in recovery. However, the data also shows this to be an uneven recovery. According to the monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Index, for example, home values rose in three of 20 tracked markets between D...

New Home Sales Slip In February Sales of “new homes” fell to the lowest levels in four months last month. According to the Census Bureau’s monthly New Home Sales report, 313,000 new homes were sold in February 2012 on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, representing a 1.6% drop from the mont...

Building Permits On The Rise The new construction housing market appears primed for growth this season. According to the Census Bureau, the number of single-family building permits issued in February rose to 472,000 on a seasonally-adjusted, annual basis, marking the highest building permit tally...

Existing Home Sales Stay Strong; Spring Season Underway The market for home resales stays strong. Despite sparse home inventory, the National Association of REALTORS® reports that 4.59 million existing homes were sold in February on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. An “existing home” is a...

Loans For Underwater Homeowners : HARP 2.0 Now Available The new, revamped HARP program is now available in New Jersey and nationwide. It was officially released Saturday, March 17, 2012 by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. HARP is an acronym. It stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program. HARP is th...

A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (March 13, 2012) Tuesday, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. For the fourth consecutive month, the Fed Funds Rate vote was nearly unanimous. Jus...

The Fed Meets Today : Protecting Your Housing Payment The Federal Open Market Committee meets today, its second of 8 scheduled meetings this year. As a home buyer or would-be refinancing household in Jonathans Landing , get ready for changing mortgage rates. The Federal Open Market Committee is t...

FHA Drops Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium To 0.01% For Qualified Borrowers The FHA is making more changes to its flagship FHA Streamline Refinance program. Beginning mid-June 2012, certain current, FHA-backed homeowners will be able to refinance their existing FHA mortgage into a new one, with...

Mortgage Rates Expected To Rise On A Strong Job Report With home affordability at an all-time high, buoyed by the lowest mortgage rates ever, it’s been a terrific time to buy or refinance a home using a mortgage. The good times may not last, though, so today marks an ideal time to lock a mortgage...