East Bay First Time Home Buyers – Claiming the $8,000 Tax Credit - 03/29/10 05:13 PM
Cari's post brings up some interesting details regarding the Homebuyer Tax Credit. ~ Doug

Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
Earlier today home builder Lennar Chicago posted a terrific, informative blog post cautioning home buyers to avoid possible problems in claiming the home buyer tax credit.
Anyone who has bought a home recently and has or is planning to claim the up to $8,000 tax credit would do well to read the post in its entirety to see if any of the issues apply to their circumstances.
The first step, of course, is to enlist the services of a qualified tax … (3 comments)

East Bay Mortgage Update for March 29th - 03/29/10 02:11 PM
Cari & I work in conjunction to post the market updates three times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday....Have a great week! ~Doug

Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
Beginning of the Week Update
Economic News:  The Personal Income & Outlay figures were reported this morning.    Nothing really dramatic to report as personal income came in at the lower end of the expected range and spending softened with a decline in auto sales.  At the end of last week Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 183 into law. The bill made provisions for $200 million in homebuyer tax credits. $100 million … (1 comments)

East Bay Mortgage Update for March 26th - 03/26/10 09:42 AM
Cari & I work in conjunction to post the market updates three times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday....Have a great weekend! ~Doug

Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
End of the Week Update
Economic News:  The Jobless Claims numbers released yesterday were positive and continued the trend of month to month improvement in the payroll numbers.  New claims were reported at 442,000 versus the expected 450,000.  This morning the 4th Quarter GDP numbers were revised downward from an annual rate of 5.9% to 5.6% which was slightly below forecast.  Lastly, the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index reported numbers … (0 comments)

San Francisco Bay Area Home Prices Rise 20% - 03/24/10 04:39 PM
The home prices in the San Francisco Bay Area market rose 20% from February 2009 to February 2010.  This is certainly great news.  While the market still faces challenges things are certainly a lot brighter this year than last.  A significant factor is that there is more movement in the higher end price areas.  According to the Wall Street Journal article there are still a lot of naysayers regarding a lasting rebound but we have to start somewhere.  Many of the financial structures put in place by the government have expired and the FED will cease the mortgage backed security purchase … (8 comments)

East Bay Mortgage Update for March 24th - 03/24/10 12:20 PM
Cari & I work in conjunction to post the market updates three times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday....Have a great day! ~Doug...UPDATE...the debt markets are under continued stress this morning and have been met with selling.  Reprices for the worse are forthcoming.

Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
Mid Week Update
Economic News:  Existing Home Sales data was released yesterday.  The figures remained lackluster with a .60 decrease from the January levels and supply rising over the last three months.  Distressed sales made up 35% of the market and all cash deals were at 27%.  The Midwest & Northeast … (0 comments)

Random St Patrick’s Day Facts - 03/17/10 02:18 PM
Thanks Cari for the Random St. Paddy's day facts!  A happy St. Patrick's day to all!
Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
Green has always been my favorite color. I am a quarter Irish. I don't like corned beef or cooked cabbage or ale so I'm not a very good Irish I guess....
Okay, that's enough about me. Here are some St. Paddy's Day facts that are actually interesting! Have a happy, festive day (and go easy on the green beer!)
March 17th is the feast of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who is believed to have died on that date … (2 comments)

East Bay Mortgage Update for March 17th - 03/17/10 10:37 AM
Cari & I work in conjunction to post the market updates three times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday....Have a great day! ~Doug

Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
Mid Week Update
Economic News:  The big news yesterday was "no new news" via the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement.  The release stated that the economy is growing, albeit at a sluggish rate, and inflation is muted at this time.  This led to a rally in the debt and equity markets and led to better mortgage pricing in the afternoon.  The Housing Starts numbers from yesterday came in slightly above … (2 comments)

East Bay Mortgage Update for March 15th - 03/15/10 04:39 PM
Cari & I work in conjunction to post the market updates three times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday....Have a great day! ~Doug
Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
Beginning of the Week Update
Economic News:  The Industrial Production numbers increased mainly due to higher utilities output relating to the weather.  Last week did not give us much market moving data but this week will.  Keep a close eye on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI).  These will both give us the near term view of the inflation picture.



Mortgage Markets:  The 10 year … (0 comments)

East Bay Mortgage Update for March 12th - 03/12/10 01:27 PM
Cari & I work in conjunction to post the market updates three times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday....Have a great day! ~Doug
Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
End of Week Update
Economic News:  The International Trade numbers came in below estimates showing that recent growth trends may be moderating a bit.  Thursday's Jobless Claims were reported at the top range of expectations and show that the employment picture is still distressing.  Friday's Retail Sales figures came in well above estimates revealing the consumer may be a tad more confident and opening the wallet a little more during the February reporting … (0 comments)

East Bay Mortgage Update for March 10th - 03/10/10 11:23 AM
Cari & I work in conjunction to post the market updates three times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday....Have a great day! ~Doug
Via Cari Anderson (Diversified Mortgage Group):
Mid Week Update
Economic News:  There is not much coming on the market calendar until tomorrow and Friday.  The sentiment is that the Retail Sales number will show a modest gain on Friday.  The jobless claims number is expected to also show slight improvement on Thursday following the better than expected reports at the end of last week.  The government bond auctions began yesterday with 40 Billion in 3 year notes.  The issue … (0 comments)