ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2008
In the past when the Federal Reserve cut the discount rate it translated into lower mortgage interest rates for home buyers. This was a convenient way for the Federal Reserve to stimulate the economy during economic slowdowns. By making it easier for people to get loans more cash was pushed into ...
03/22/2008
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autoupdating mortgage rates widget Mortgage rates fell this week. 30 Year mortgages fell from 6.13 to 5.87. 15 Year rates fell from 5.6 to 5.27. It looks like lenders are trying to stay away from ARMS due to the heavy losses they are taking from ARM's from foreclosures. Although rates did not fa...
03/22/2008
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As the sub-prime mortgage crisis continues to unfold, new figures emerge from the Mortgage Banker's Association: A record .83. That means that, in three months, almost one out of one hundred homeowners have been foreclosed on. Because of America's size and diverse population, the statistics are s...
03/21/2008
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During the subprime crisis we saw the advent of numerous bizarre loan products. In general the new loan products were designed to get people into houses they could not normally afford. As people started to default on their mortgages banks realized many of these loan products were not a good idea....
03/21/2008
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So the mortgage insurers have decided to start blackballing certain zip codes. I am not quite sure how this does not count as redlining. Regardless this is some bad news after the positive news of mortgage rates falling the last two weeks. Read the rest of the story here Mortgage Companies Blackb...
03/20/2008
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The recent government-sponsored bailout of Bear Stearns, one of the top five lenders in the United States, has shocked traders and left investors cold. Despite the chilly reaction on Wall Street, secretly many are breathing a sigh of relief. While Bear Stearns was mismanaged from its upper echelo...
03/19/2008
I usually write about real estate. But every so often I like to throw in something completely different. So now for something different Two months ago the Democrats were looking at numerous positive signals for their chances in the November election. First the polls of a generic Democrat versus a...
03/18/2008
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time Bear Stearns had a high flying stock price of $150 a share and a market valuation of 20 Billion. Having been founded in 1923 they were considered one of Wall Streets most venerable investment houses. Going back to 2005 Bear Stearns was select...
03/17/2008
Lying just west of IH-35 and south of Riverside Drive is one of Austin’s most appealing neighborhoods, Travis Heights. Its rolling hills and winding roads have long been a haven for a diverse culture, with a mixture of housing to match: perfectly kept bungalows, a few large estates and smattering...
03/15/2008
Just north of Austin's urban center lies the Crestview neighborhood, bordered by Anderson Lane to the north, Justin Lane to the south, North Lamar Boulevard to the east and Burnet Road to the west. In 1948, developer A.B. Beddow began building the Crestview homes on what was originally an old cot...
03/13/2008