RECENT BLOG POSTS
Tips For Maximizing Your Home’s Appraised Value A home appraisal is an independent opinion of your home’s value, performed by a licensed home appraiser. Appraisals are part of the traditional home purchase process, and lenders require them for most refinances, too. Appraisers are trained professi...
11/09/2011
A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (November 2, 2011 Edition) Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. The vote was nearly unanimous, with just one dissenting voter. There we...
11/07/2011
The Most Expensive ZIP Codes In The Country (2011 Edition) In the housing market, amenities and location have as much to do with a home’s value as the everyday forces of supply-and-demand. Whereas the latter causes home values to rise and fall over time, the former creates a starting point for sa...
11/04/2011
More Risk To Home Affordability : Friday’s Jobs Report Within the next 48 hours, mortgage rates may get bouncy. The Federal Open Market Committee will adjourn from a 2-day meeting and October’s Non-Farm Payrolls report is due for release. Of the two market movers, it’s the Non-Farm Payrolls repor...
11/02/2011
Pending Home Sales Index Slips For 4th Straight Month Nationwide, fewer homes are going under contract to sell. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the Pending Home Sales Index fell 5 percent last month. September marks the fourth consecutive month in which the index has dropped. ...
10/31/2011
The Government’s Revamped HARP Program For Underwater Homeowners The Federal Home Finance Agency announced big changes to its Home Affordable Refinance Program Monday. More commonly called HARP, the Home Affordable Refinance Program is meant to give “underwater homeowners” opportunity to refinanc...
10/26/2011
Despite 18% Contract Failure Rate, Home Resales Stay Strong Despite fewer homes for sale nationwide, the number of home resales remains steady. According to data from the National Association of REALTORS®, on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, September’s Existing Home Sales eased by 150,00...
10/24/2011
Finding Truth In September’s Housing Starts Report Headlines in newspapers can be misleading — especially with respect to housing figures. Media coverage of the most recent Housing Starts data serves as an excellent illustration. Wednesday, the Census Bureau released its September Housing Starts ...
10/21/2011
Homebuilder Confidence Rises on Surging Sales Volume, Foot Traffic Homebuilder confidence is rebounding sharply. Just one month after falling to a multi-month low, the Housing Market Index rebounded four points to 18 for October. It’s the highest reading for the HMI since May 2010 — the month aft...
10/19/2011
