The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking input on draft requirements that would apply to private mortgage insurance companies that insure mortgage loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If put into effect, these requirements would apply only to private mortgage insurers that are currently approved …

It’s disappointing, frustrating and sometimes, discouraging when you lose a home you want to buy.

One of the hardest lessons for today’s buyers is that writing an offer doesn’t mean that you’ll get the home or even a counter-offer. The low inventory affecting many of the housing markets …

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published a Mortgagee Letter recently reminding lenders participating in the agency’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program to make certain senior borrowers are fully informed of all their options when applying for reverse mortgages. FHA’s Mortgagee Letter also reinforces the agency’s prohibition against misleading or …

In an effort to decrease homelessness, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan recently announced a second round of grants totaling $140 million to nearly 900 local homeless assistance programs across the country.

The funding, which has been provided through HUD’s Continuum of Care Program, will …

In increasingly competitive markets like Philly, your RIS Consumer Confidant knows it may not make sense for sellers to stubbornly sit on a property with a fixed price set in their mind and no room to budge.

Zip, real estate firm in Philadelphia, Penn., recently advised their clients via …

According to recently released data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, mortgage applications decreased 9.2 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 9.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an …

Declines in both single- and multifamily starts pushed nationwide housing production down 6.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just over 1 million units, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. However, single-family permits, …

Average fixed mortgage rates increased last week, as revealed by Freddie Mac's recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey®. According to experts, the surge may partly be in response to recent job growth and economic improvement.

The survey showed that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.20 percent with an average …

Most taxpayers know that they will pay a 10% penalty if they withdraw funds from their IRA before they turn 59.5 years old. There is an exception for first-time home buyers that allows a penalty-free withdrawal of up to $10,000 per person if they haven’t owned a home in …

Serious shoppers wait for a 50% off sale to make the decision because of the bargain factor. Renters who are serious about lowering their monthly cost of housing should consider buying with today’s low mortgage rates. For an example, let’s assume a person buys a $200,000 home with 3.5% …