Bob's Coto Blog

Financial advice is rarely one-size-fits-all, but this interview with Suze Orman is worth a watch.  In 5 minutes with NBC's The Today Show, Ms. Orman covers a ton of relevant ground for homeowners and the public-at-large: Who should -- and shouldn't -- be paying down their mortgage What backlash...

After starting the week with a run lower toward 5 percent, mortgage rates have reversed course.  It started mid-day Tuesday and the culprit is Basic Economics.  Here's why. Mortgage rates are based on the price of mortgage-backed bonds and -- like most things -- mortgage-backed bonds prices are b...

For May, the Case-Shiller Index showed home values up in 15 of its 20 tracked U.S. markets.  It's the first time in nearly 3 years that the index showed such strength and a signal that home prices may be turning higher for good. According to a Case-Shiller Index spokesperson, "this could be a si...

Once again, the housing market is showing that its worst days may be over. According to the Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold in June leapt by 11 percent from the month prior. It stands as the biggest one-month jump in 8 years. A "new home sale" is when a home in any stage of constructi...

The national home supply is falling, down to its lowest levels since December 2008. In June, there was 9.4 months of supply, down from a year-ago level of 11.0 months.  It's one more sign that the housing market may be mending itself. Housing supply is an important metric because home values acro...

Home values around the country appear to be leveling. The Federal Housing Finance Agency's latest Home Price Index report shows values up by nearly 1 percent in May versus the month prior. Since peaking in April 2007, values remain off by 11 percent nationwide. The FHFA Home Price Index is an int...

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 ...

Housing Starts soared in June, thumping analyst expectations for the second straight month. A "housing start" is a new home on which construction has started.  Last month's jump in single-family starts is the largest one-month jump since 2004. To Wall Street, June's figures are the latest signal ...

The government's First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit expires December 1, 2009.  If you expect to use the program in conjunction with a home purchase, therefore, you may want to consider yourself officially "on the clock".  Assuming a 60-day window between contract and closing, there are now 77 days ...

For the fourth consecutive month, the country's foreclosure activity was dominated by a small number of states. As reported by RealtyTrac.com, more than 50 percent of the country's foreclosure-related actions in June concentrated in just 3 states: California Florida Nevada The states rounding ou...