30-Year Colorado Mortgage Rates Make New Lows, But Look Ready To Spike - 07/30/10 01:31 PM
No doubt you've heard that Colorado Mortgage Rates are low. They're lower than they've ever been in history.  The news is everywhere.
Just check out some of these headlines from the last 24 hours:
Mortgage rates set new lows for the 6th straight week (Reuters) Mortgage rates fall again; 30-year fixed at 4.54% (Wall Street Journal) Mortgage rates hit another low : 4.54% (NPR) Fixed Colorado Mortgage Rates are now down more than 1/2 percent from the start of the year, and 3/4 percent from just 1 year ago. The drop has dramatically improved home affordability for Colorado Home Buyers while … (0 comments)

Falling Consumer Confidence Helps Drag Colorado Mortgage Rates Lower. For Now. - 07/29/10 05:55 PM
For the second consecutive month, U.S. consumer confidence is plunging. July's official reading is its lowest since July of last year and the figures run in stark contrast to just two months ago, when the index touched a multi-year high.
According to The Conference Board, July's figures are reflective of a more pessimistic consumer; one concerned about "business conditions and the labor market".
Falling confidence numbers are presumed to be poor for the economy. For homeowner and Colorado home buyers in Denver , however, they can create opportunity.  Low confidence can influence the mortgage market in a positive manner, driving Colorado … (0 comments)

Case-Shiller Shows Home Price Improvement In 95% Of Cities including Denver, Colorado - 07/28/10 03:09 PM
Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, between April and May 2010, home prices rose in 19 of Case-Shiller's 20 tracked markets.  It's the second straight month of strong Case-Shiller findings.  Denver, Colorado home values were among the markets that saw improvements
Also, May's numbers are a mirror-image of February's. In February, 19 of 20 markets lost value.
In its press release, the Case-Shiller staff resisted calling May's data proof of a housing recovery, noting that home values remain flat as compared to October of last year. However, there are some noteworthy numbers in the Case-Shiller … (1 comments)

Rise in June Home Sales is Relative for Colorado and Nation - 07/27/10 01:54 PM
After a down month in May, the sales of newly-built homes appears back on track.
As published by the Census Bureau, June's New Home Sales report showed:

A 24 percent sales volume increase from the month prior A 2-month drop in the supply of newly-built home There are now just 210,000 new homes for sale nationwide.
June's data is a major improvement over May, but it's possible that the true "new home market" may be softer than the statistics suggest.  This is for several reasons.
First, we're comparing June's sales data to the worst month in New Home Sales history.
… (1 comments)

Colorado Mortgage Rates For This Week : July 26, 2010 - 07/26/10 05:35 PM
Colorado Mortgage markets worsened last week for the first time in 6 weeks. Investors were pleased with corporate earnings reports and the European bank stress tests results.  Stocks gained on the news, and bonds lost.
Colorado Mortgage Rates rose last week, but only slightly. Rates are still hovering near their lowest levels of all-time.
Of the bigger stories last week was Existing Home Sales. As reported by the National Association of Realtors®, sales volume was down in June and home supplies were up. But figures were a bit better than expected, giving some hope for housing.
Notably, the number of move-up … (2 comments)

Existing Home Sales Drop In June - Colorado Mortgage Rates Unaffected by News - 07/23/10 11:13 AM
However, there is a Hint At Support For Higher Price Tiers....
Consistent with most post-home buyer tax credit housing news, the National Association of Realtors® says Existing Home Sales eased lower last month, including Colorado Home Sales.
An "existing home" is a home that cannot be considered new construction.
The 5 percent drop in sales from May to June was expected, but a closer look at the month's data reveals some interesting trends.
First, repeat buyers accounted for 44 percent of home resales in June, up from 40 percent in May. That's a healthy increase for just 4 weeks' time and … (1 comments)

Yes, You Can Still Get A Colorado Mortgage If You're Pregnant - 07/22/10 10:14 AM
The New York Times ran an important story this week concerning pregnancy and Colorado Mortgage approvals. Titled "Need a Mortgage? Don't Get Pregnant", the article discussed the difficulties that expecting and recently-expanded families are having with their Colorado Mortgage financing.
NBC's The Today Show picked up the story as well, as shown in the 3-minute clip above.
The crux of the issue is that maternity/paternity leave often leads to a change in household income and mortgage lenders will no longer assume one or both parents will go back to work full-time.  The loss of income can raise a household's debt-to-income ratio … (2 comments)

Colorado Housing Starts Ease 0.7 Percent In June -- 7x Better Than The Headline Data - 07/21/10 10:06 AM
Single-family Housing Starts eased lower last month, falling by 0.7 percent from May, or 3,000 units nationwide.
A "housing start" is a home on which construction has started.
June's Housing Starts data is somewhat soft and may partially explain why home builder confidence dropped to its lowest level since April 2009, but for Colorado Home Buyers and sellers in, the Housing Starts report is not nearly as bad as headlines say.
This is because when the press reports on Housing Starts, it doesn't single out single-family homes. The press lumps every type of home into a single, giant reading. As a … (1 comments)

Sagging Homebuilder Confidence May Lead to Good Colorado Mortgage Deals - 07/20/10 10:01 AM
Builder confidence in the housing market slipped this month, according to the National Association of Homebuilders' monthly Housing Market Index.
The Housing Market Index is actually a weighted composite of 3 separate surveys. One measures current single-family sales; one measures projected single-family sales; and one measures traffic of prospective buyers.
All three surveys were down in July:
Single-Family Sales : From 17 (June) to 15 (July) Single-Family Project : From 22 (June) to 21 (July) Buyer Foot Traffic : From 13 (June) to 10 (July) The HMI's July reading of 14 puts confidence at its lowest point since April 2009.
For … (0 comments)

Colorado Mortgage Market Update - By RJ Baxter 7-19-2010 - 07/19/10 03:18 PM
The theme lately seems to have been LOW Colorado Mortgage Rates with rates dropping even further last week to the lowest levels ever seen.  By far this is the lowest I have seen mortgage rates in my 10 year career.  Locking clients in at 4.5% on a 30 year fixed rate with no points previously seem inconceivable, but now is a reality.
Why is this happening?  The bottom line is that the economy continues to stink and people are not convinced that there is an end in sight.
The chart on the left shows the incredible run-up we have seen on … (1 comments)