market conditions: Orange County Housing Report: Two Polar Opposite Markets - 10/18/09 10:37 AM
Here is the latest Orange County, California Housing Report from my friend Steven Thomas, the President of Altera Real Estate. Steven's report is the most comprehensive study of our local real estate market, and is an extremely up to date depiction of the market as it is today. Enjoy.
Orange County … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Existing Home Supply Falls By Nearly A Year - 09/25/09 10:44 AM
As reported by the National Association of REALTORS©, the number of Existing Home Sales dipped last month, ending the metric's 5-month winning streak.
Newspaper headlines today are overwhelmingly negative on housing. You'd almost believe this year's housing recovery had ended.
That's hardly the case.
See, the other side of the Existing Home Sales story is … (1 comments)
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market conditions: A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (September 23, 2009 Edition) - 09/23/09 02:56 PM
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
It also reiterated plans to support the mortgage market to the tune of $1.5 trillion.
In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. economy is "picking up following its severe … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Home Prices Rise Again In July - 09/23/09 12:42 PM
As reported by the government, home prices are rising nationwide, up 0.3 percent in July.
Furthermore, versus November 2008, the Home Price Index has clawed back to unchanged.
The housing market appears to be holding its own.
However, we have to be careful about putting our full faith in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's data. It's … (2 comments)
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market conditions: The Housing Market Index Reaches A 16-Month High - 09/22/09 01:18 PM
According to the country's home builders, the housing market is looking good.
Each month, the National Association of Home Builders releases its Housing Market Index report, a survey geared at taking "the pulse of the single-family housing market".
Respondents report on three facets of their business, each series weighted and averaged:
How … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Should You Lock Your Mortgage Rate In Advance Of Tomorrow's Federal Reserve Announcement? - 09/22/09 11:44 AM
The Federal Open Market Committee starts a 2-day meeting today in Washington.
The scheduled get-together ends at 2:15 PM ET Wednesday after which the FOMC will issue a press release to the markets.
Consider locking your mortgage in advance of the press release.
The FOMC meets 8 times annually and … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Ben Bernanke Left Clues About The Future Of Mortgage Rates - 09/21/09 04:57 PM
On the 1-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last Tuesday that the "recession is very likely over at this point".
His comments were supported by a Retail Sales report for August that was much better-than-expected.
Equities improved on the day, mortgage markets worsened, and home affordability … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Why The Day Before Labor Day Weekend Is Tough On Home Affordability - 09/04/09 10:12 AM
Volume figures to be light on Wall Street today as traders get a head start on Labor Day weekend. It could make shopping for a mortgage a bona fide challenge.
Expect rate volatility this morning and afternoon and, therefore, by extension, expect wild swings in the Home Affordability Index.
As mortgage … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Another Sign Of Economic Recovery : Consumer Sentiment Rising - 09/01/09 01:24 PM
In a bit of good news for the economy, Consumer Sentiment fell to 4-month lows in August. The drop wasn't "good news", per se, but because it wasn't nearly as large as economists expected, Wall Street cheered it.
The index, jointly published by the University of Michigan and Reuters, measures how … (1 comments)
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market conditions: Home Prices Keep On Rising And Rising - 08/26/09 02:19 AM
18 of 20 markets tracked by the Case-Shiller Index showed rising home values in June. It's the 5th consecutive month with strong numbers and the best showing for the benchmark housing index since home values began deflating in 2006.
Some would argue it's a sign that housing has finally … (2 comments)
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market conditions: The Long-Term Trendline For Existing Home Sales Points To A Housing Recovery - 08/25/09 01:16 PM
The housing market continues to surprise. Last week, the latest good news came in the form of the monthly Existing Home Sales report.
An "existing home" is a home sold by an existing owner as opposed to a developer. It's non-new construction property.
The data on Existing Home Sales was noteworthy … (1 comments)
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market conditions: Builders Are Building And What It Means For Home Values - 08/19/09 12:18 PM
Single-family Housing Starts rose for the 4th straight month in July, another sign that the battered housing market may be making its comeback.
"Housing starts" are new homes on which construction has recently started.
Not surprising, in a related story, homebuilder confidence moved to a 12-month high.
Ironically, an increase … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Is Mortgage Underwriting Getting More Friendly? - 08/17/09 11:53 PM
It looks like banks are less scared of mortgage loans these days.
In its quarterly survey to member banks, the Federal Reserve asked senior bank loan officers whether "prime" residential mortgage guidelines had tightened in the last 3 months.
Just one-fifth of banks said guidelines tightened last quarter, a dramatically lower … (1 comments)
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market conditions: A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (August 12, 2009 Edition) - 08/12/09 04:26 PM
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
It also reiterated plans to support the mortgage market to the tune of $1.5 trillion.
In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. economy is "leveling off" and that financial … (0 comments)
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market conditions: July Jobs Data Is Weak, But Strong Enough To Sock Mortgage Rates - 08/07/09 09:58 AM
This morning's jobs report is doing a number on mortgage rates, putting another dent in home affordability nationwide.
Despite the slightly flat Unemployment Rate, the government's July Non-Farm Payrolls report reinforced the notion that the recession may be ending soon, if it hasn't already.
Just 247,000 jobs were lost last month … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Mortgage Rates Drop On Ben Bernanke's "Exit Strategy" - 07/22/09 10:18 AM
Mortgage markets rallied Tuesday while Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave his semi-annual testimony to Congress.
By the time the day was over, some conforming mortgage rates were down by as much as 0.250 percent.
One of the leading causes for the market rally was Chairman Bernanke revealing an "exit strategy" from … (2 comments)
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market conditions: For The 4th Straight Month, There's An Increase In The Number Of Homes Under Contract To Sell - 07/02/09 10:23 AM
The number of homes under contract to sell increased in May. It's the fourth straight month in which sales volume increased, corroborating the growing notion that housing is on the mend in most U.S. markets.
Consider these other housing-related stories from the past month:
Existing Home Sales are rising New home … (0 comments)
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market conditions: Home Prices Show Improvement In 19 of the 20 Case-Shiller Markets - 07/01/09 11:36 AM
Tuesday -- for the first time in a long while -- members of the press met the monthly Case-Shiller Index data with enthusiasm. And why shouldn't they? 19 of the 20 measured markets showed a slowing pace of home price decline in April.
Here are some of the headlines about … (0 comments)
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market conditions: With The Year Half-Over, How Accurately Did Economists Predict 2009? - 06/30/09 09:56 AM
At the start of the year, the "experts" made a lot of predictions about the U.S. economy and what to expect in 2009.
Some said housing would riseSome said housing would fallSome said mortgage rates would riseSome said mortgage rates would fallAnd nobody predicted just how big the government's stimulus package … (0 comments)
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market conditions: In Another Good Sign For The Housing Market, Builders Are Clearing Out Their Inventory - 06/26/09 11:15 AM
If you only saw the headlines this week, you may have missed another positive sign in the housing market.
According to the Census Bureau, the supply of newly-built homes for sale fell to 10.2 months in May, its lowest level in 10 months.
Unfortunately, the New Homes Sales story wasn't positioned … (0 comments)
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