Michael LaFido's (sellmorerealestatetoday) Blog

  Like real estate, it appears that foreclosure activity is a local phenomenon, too. As reported by RealtyTrac.com, more than half of all foreclosure-related activity in 2009 came from just 4 states: California Florida Arizona Illinois More than 1.4 million filings made in 2009 are attributed to ...

The Real Estate Agent Is The Loneliest Person On The Planet...but it doesn't have to be that way What exactly do I mean by this?  It means real estate agents (like you and me) often have trouble finding people who we can openly talk to and "get" us.  We can't really talk to our assistants about o...

Retail Sales Dropped In December And Now So Are Mortgage Rates Mortgage rates are dropping this morning on weaker-than-expected Retail Sales data from December. Lower rates means more bang for your home-buying buck. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, December's "ex-auto" sales receipts were dow...

10 Cities For Home Bargains As the housing market improves across the country, certain cities are emerging as relative bargains.  Some areas, like Miami, were hit hard by the recession, and other areas are buoyed by good school systems and strong labor markets. In this 5-minute video from The To...

The Bad Jobs Report Wasn't All Bad -- Mortgage Rates Fell Despite the headlines, it's important to remember that December's jobs report wasn't all bad news.  Sure, the economy shed 85,000 jobs last month and the Unemployment Rate failed to dip below 10%, but for home buyers and rate shoppers , t...

Throw Out Your "Chip Clips". Get The Banana Seal. If you've ever used a plastic Chip Clip and been miffed that your chips went stale anyway, you have to see the Banana Seal.  Its beauty is its simplicity. Similar to the tongue-in-groove seal created by zip-top bags, the Banana Seal creates an ai...

2010 FHA Loan Limits Released   FHA home loans are federal assistance mortgages made by lenders, and backed by the government. The FHA doesn't make loans to homeowners -- it insures loans made to homeowners by federally-qualified lenders. By all accounts, FHA home loans are surging in popularity...

Both mortgage rates and home affordability took a turn for the better Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released its December 15-16, 2009 meeting minutes. The Fed Minutes is a follow-up piece to the post-FOMC meeting press release. But whereas the press release is succinct and to-the-point, the...

Upon Closer Inspection, The Federal Reserve Isn't 100% Positive About The Future Of The Economy Both mortgage rates and home affordability took a turn for the better Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released its December 15-16, 2009 meeting minutes. The...

  Just one month after touching a 3-year high, the National Association of Realtors® Pending Home Sales index plunged in November.  A "pending" home sale is a home that is under contract to sell, but has yet to close. The 16 percent drop marks the first retreat in Pending Home Sales since January...