burlingame: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week: October 22, 2012 - 10/22/12 08:03 AM
Mortgage markets worsened last week as hope for a European economic rebound and stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data moved investors out of mortgage-backed bonds.
Mortgage rates all of types -- conventional, FHA and VA -- lost ground last week, harming home affordability in San Carlos and reducing purchasing power nationwide.
Rising rates also thwarted would-be refinancing households hoping to time a market bottom.
The increase runs counter to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey which showed the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate dropping 2 basis points to 3.37% nationwide.
This contradiction occurred because Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey is … (0 comments)

burlingame: How To Improve Your FICO Score - 10/19/12 11:15 AM
The U.S. housing market recovery is underway. New home sales are at a multi-year high, housing starts are at pre-recession levels, and home builders plan for a strong 2013.
Since late-2011, falling mortgage rates have boosted buyer purchasing power. Now, today, in many U.S. markets, the number of active home buyers outnumbers the number of active home sellers. It's among the reasons why home supplies remain scarce and why home prices are rising.
Roughly 20 percent of today's home buyers purchase homes with cash. For everyone else, the ability to gain mortgage approval depends on income, assets, and, most importantly, credit … (5 comments)

burlingame: Single-Family Housing Starts Rise To 4-Year High - 10/18/12 11:38 AM
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, Single-Family Housing Starts rose to 603,000last month, an 11 percent increase from the month prior and the highest reading in more than 4 years. 
A "housing start" is a home on which construction has started and home builders are breaking ground at rates not seen even during the 2010 federal home buyer tax credit period.
It's a signal to home buyers throughout California that the U.S. housing market may be permanently off its bottom.
At least, the nation's home builders seem to think so.
Earlier this week, the National Association … (0 comments)

burlingame: Home Builder Confidence Moves To 6-Year High - 10/17/12 06:30 AM
As home prices rise, so does home builder confidence.
Tuesday, the National Association of Homebuilders reported its monthly Housing Market Index (HMI) at 41, a one-tick improvement from September and the highest HMI value since June 2006 -- a span of 77 months.
The Housing Market Index is a homebuilder confidence indicator. When it reads 50 or better, the HMI suggests favorable conditions for home builders nationwide. Readings below 50 suggest unfavorable conditions for builders.
The HMI has not crossed 50 since April 2006 but the index has been making a run since last year, nearly tripling since the 14 reading of … (1 comments)

burlingame: Buyers Win 6.6 Percent Increase In Purchasing Power - 10/16/12 05:21 AM
Mortgage rates in California continue to troll near all-time lows, boosting the purchasing power of home buyers statewide.
According to Freddie Mac's most recent Primary Mortgage Market survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now 3.39 percent nationwide, just three ticks off an all-time low. At the start of last quarter, 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates averaged 3.62 percent.
One year ago, they averaged 4.12%.
When mortgage rates are falling, they present Burlingame home buyers with interesting options. Because of lower rates, buyers can choose to tighten their household budgets, buying an ideal home but paying less to own it … (0 comments)

burlingame: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : October 15, 2012 - 10/15/12 10:54 AM
U.S. mortgage rates fell slightly in the holiday-shortened week.
The combination of civil protests, economic slowdowns, and growing political tensions caused investors to dump risky assets in favor of the relative safety provided by the U.S. mortgage bond market.
According to Freddie Mac, the average conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now 3.39% nationwide for borrowers willing to pay 0.7 discount points plus a full set of closing costs. 0.7 discount points is a one-time closing cost equal to 0.7 percent of the borrowed loan size.
As an illustration, a bank's charge of 0.7 discount points on a $100,000 mortgage would … (0 comments)

burlingame: Florida Takes Top Foreclosure Slot For September 2012 - 10/12/12 06:45 AM
Foreclosure volume continues to slip.
According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac, in September, the number of foreclosure filings nationwide fell 7 percent from the month prior, and fell 16 percent from September 2011.
RealtyTrac defines a "foreclosure filing" as any of the following foreclosure-related events : (1) A default notice on a home; (2) A scheduled auction for a home; or, (3) A bank repossession of a home.
September's 180,427 foreclosure filings mark the lowest monthly total in more than 5 years. It's a signal that the U.S. housing market is in recovery, while also reflecting the success with which banks and homeowners … (2 comments)

burlingame: Tips To Close Your Home Loan Faster, With Fewer Hassles - 10/11/12 07:39 AM
Home sales are at their highest levels since May 2010 as home buyers take advantage of favorable economic conditions. Home prices are low, household income is rising, and rents are up in many U.S. cities.
Low rates have stoked mortgage refinance applications throughout California , too.
Last week, with 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates slipping to 3.36% nationwide, on average, more U.S. homeowners were in search of a refinance than during any one-week period since April 2009.
With loan volume high, banks are nearing their respective capacities for underwriting and approving home loans. As a mortgage applicant, therefore, you'll want to … (0 comments)

burlingame: 103 Metro Areas On The "Improving" U.S. Markets List - 10/10/12 08:26 AM
It's not just the housing market that's improving nationwide -- it's the economy overall.
The number of U.S. metropolitan areas showing "measurable and sustained growth" climbed to 103 this month. The data is measured by the Improving Markets Index, a monthly metric from the National Association of Homebuilders.
The Improving Market Index is meant to identify which U.S. markets are experiencing broad economic growth -- not just growth in terms of housing.
The index's conclusions are based on three data series -- each collected separately; each from a different division of the U.S. government; and, each tied to specific local economic … (1 comments)

burlingame: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : October 9, 2012 - 10/09/12 07:09 AM
Conforming mortgage rates in California rose last week on the whole -- even though Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey proclaimed that they fell. 
This occurred because Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey is conducted between Monday and Tuesday each week and, last week, mortgage rates were lower when the week began. Through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, however, they rose.
According to the Freddie Mac survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage slipped to 3.36 percent nationwide last week, while the 15-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 2.69 percent. Both rates required 0.6 discount points and both marked all-time lows.
As … (0 comments)

burlingame: Fed Minutes Detail QE3 Discussion; Mortgage Rates Down - 10/06/12 04:07 AM
The Fed Minutes detail the discussions and debates which shaped the central banker's launch of its third round of qualitative easing since 2008. The minutes also give Wall Street insight into future monetary policy.
At 6,987 words, the Fed Minutes provides a level of detail that was unavailable via the FOMC's post-meeting press release, a documen that, by contrast, ran 562 words.
Despite its large word count, there was very little that was new or surprising in the Fed Minutes, though. This is because, since the Fed's last meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has publicly clarified and re-iterated the Fed's positions on … (2 comments)

burlingame: With Tomorrow's Job Report Due, Mortgage Rates May Finally Rise - 10/04/12 06:51 AM
Friday morning, at 8:30 AM ET, the government releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report for September. More well-known as "the jobs report", Non-Farm Payrolls data has the power to move mortgage rates up or down.
Unfortunately, ahead of the release, we can't know which.
Last year, job growth more than doubled between August and September. If this year shows that same growth, California mortgage rates are expected to rocket higher.
The connection between rising jobs and rising rates is a chain reaction-type link, and is often quite tight.
Jobs are a growth engine for the U.S. economy and mortgage rates are "made" … (0 comments)

burlingame: How To Help Your Home Appraise At Its Fair Market Value - 10/03/12 07:52 AM
Home values are rising in many U.S. markets. The S&P/Case-Shiller Index has home values up 1.2 percent as compared to last year, and the government's Home Price Index shows an increase of 3.7 percent.
This has been partially evidenced by rising median home sales prices nationwide. Versus last year, the median sale price of a new construction home has climbed 17 percent, and the median sale price of an existing home sale is higher by 10 percent.
For home sellers, an improving market means the chance to net more proceeds from a home sale. Or does it?
In this 3-minute piece from NBC's … (0 comments)

burlingame: Case-Shiller index Shows Home Values Rising Nationwide, Too - 10/02/12 07:32 AM
There have been no shortage of "housing market" stories lately. After sinking through much of late-last decade, home values slowly stabilized into mid-2011. By October 2011, values appeared to have bottomed.
Today, nearly five-and-one-half years after the April 2007 housing market peak, home prices are finally showing their ability to rebound. Over the past 12 months, a bevy of housing market data highlights broad-based market growth.
For example, as compared to August 2011, Existing Home Sales are up 9.3 percent nationally; New Home Sales are up 27.7 percent nationally; and home inventories have slipped to multi-year lows in San Carlos and throughout the … (0 comments)

burlingame: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : October 1, 2012 - 10/01/12 08:08 AM
Mortgage rates dropped to another all-time low last week as concerns for global economic growth helped U.S. home buyers and refinancing households nationwide. 
U.S. mortgage rates responded to non-U.S. events and, for rate shoppers and home buyers in San Carlos , home affordability improved.
Early in the week, with Greece and Spain debating new austerity measures, and with citizen protests rampant, a flight-to-quality helped to boost demand for U.S. mortgage bonds. So did rumors of a weakening Chinese economy.
"Flight-to-quality" is a trading term for when investors shun investment risk in favor of safer, more high-quality portfolio assets. Typically, this involves … (0 comments)

burlingame: Pending Home Sales Index Continues To Show Strength - 09/28/12 07:00 AM
Nationwide, homes continue to sell briskly.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the Pending Home Sales Index read 99.2 for August -- the fourth straight month in which the index hovered near its benchmark value of 100.
A "pending home" is a home that is under contract to sell, but has not yet closed. The index measures with fair accuracy the future strength of the U.S. housing market.
For today's Burlingame home buyers, the August Pending Home Sales Index is relevant for several reasons.
First, the index remains near its highest point since April 2010, the last month of that … (0 comments)

burlingame: New Home Supply Remains Firmly In "Seller's Market" Territory - 09/27/12 06:14 AM
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold slipped 0.3 percent in August 2012 to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized 373,000 units sold — just 1,000 units less than July 2012 and the second-highest reading since April 2010.
April 2010 was the last month of that year's tax credit which granted home buyers up to $8,000 off of their federal tax bill.
As compared to one year ago, sales of new homes are higher by 28%.
Furthermore, during the same time frame, the median sale price of a new home moved higher by 17 percent. The rising prices, in part, are the … (0 comments)

burlingame: Home Price Index Shows Values Rising 3.7% From One Year Ago - 09/26/12 07:17 AM
Home values have not dropped month-to-month since January of this year -- a span of 6 months.
For today's home buyers and sellers throughout San Mateo , though, it's important to recognize on what the HPI is actually reporting.
Or, stated differently, on what the HPI is not reporting. The Home Price Index is based on home price changes of some homes, of certain "types", with specific mortgage financing only.
As such, it excludes a lot of home sales from its results which skews the final product. We don't know if home values are really up 0.2% this month -- we only … (2 comments)

burlingame: Existing Home Sales Leap To 2-Year High - 09/25/12 06:55 AM
The home resale market put forth another strong data set last week. Home sales prices are higher nationwide and sales volume has moved to a 2-year high.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 4.82 million "existing homes" sold on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis in August, representing a near 8 percent improvement from the month prior and a nine percent jump from August 2011.
An existing home is a home which has been previously occupied.
Home sales were unevenly split across price tiers, with more than half of all homes selling for less than $250,000. This suggests that the first-time home … (0 comments)

burlingame: 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Drops To 3.49% -- An All-Time Low - 09/21/12 02:12 AM
For the first time in 9 weeks, mortgage rates have made new lows.
According to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell 6 basis points to 3.49% this week, tying the all-time low set in late-July. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage also dropped, moving to 2.77%. This, too, marks an all-time low.
The Federal Reserve's plan to pressure mortgage rates down may be working.
However, depending on where you live, your access to these all-time rates may be limited. This is because the Freddie Mac "published rate" is a national average based on the … (2 comments)