I previously covered a report on which banks are making it easier for consumers to obtain credit and a mortgage, and provided a checklist to prepare when shopping for a mortgage.
So we'll conclude this little series of columns with some of the best practices Fannie Mae suggests once …
In recent housing news, Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving down following weaker than expected economic and housing news.
"Mortgage rates were down this week as real GDP was revised downwards to 2.4 percent growth in the …
Employees relocating to a new market for a job know all too well which features and amenities they want most in their next home and the location: it needs to be larger than their previous home, with an upgraded kitchen and be located in a good school district, yet not …
U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan recently unveiled HUD’s fiscal year 2015 budget proposal. This year The President’s Budget provides a roadmap for accelerating economic growth, expanding opportunity for all Americans, and ensuring fiscal responsibility. The Budget adheres to the 2015 spending levels agreed to in …
The housing market and the broader economy shivered at the end of 2013 as weather-related factors held consumers back and generated production delays. These impacts should prove temporary and our forecast remains positive for housing and home building for the year to come. Indeed, reports from January suggest some improvement …
March is Fraud Prevention Month. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has consistently been a leader in the fight against mortgage fraud and offers the following tips to protect yourself from becoming a victim of mortgage fraud.
Misrepresentation of Information
Mortgage fraud occurs when someone deliberately misrepresents information …
Markets in 59 out of the approximately 350 metro areas nationwide returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI), released recently.
This represents a net gain of one from the previous …
It used to be that a homeowner who decided to rent out his home rather than sell did so as a last resort—usually because it was time to move to a new house and there was a need for some sort of income, so renting was preferable to letting …
More modest gains are likely this year, according to the most recent Kiplinger Letter forecast. The national average of appreciation in home values is up 4 percent-4.5 percent, compared with a gain over 11 percent in 2013.
The top stated reason for this increase is rising mortgage rates, will …
MBA estimates that sales of new single-family homes were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 543,000 units in January 2014, based on data from MBA’s Builder Applications Survey.
“While the big jump may appear to conflict with other data, such as MBA’s purchase application index and NAR’s …