Banks Start To Loosen Up In Underwriting
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After a half-decade of tightening mortgage guidelines, banks are starting to “loosen up”.
The Federal Reserve conducts a quarterly survey of its member banks and, last quarter, not a single responding bank reported having tightened its mortgage guidelines for prime borrowers.
A “prime borrower” is defined as one with a well-documented Read More→
Home Affordability Threatened By Friday’s Jobs Report
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This week, once more, we find mortgage rates are on a downward trajectory. Conforming mortgage rates have returned to near all-time lows. After Friday morning’s Non-Farm Payrolls report, however, those low rates may come to an end.
It’s a risky time for CA home buyers and would-be refinancers to be Read More→
Standard & Poors released its November 2011 Case-Shiller Index this week. The index measures the change in home prices from month-to-month, and year-to-year, in select U.S. cities.
According to the data, for the second straight month, home values fell in 19 of the Case-Shiller Index’s 20 tracked markets. In addition, Read More→
Supply Of New Homes At 6.1 Months Nationwide
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New Home Sales slowed into the New Year but the market for newly-built homes remains strong. For home buyers in CA and nationwide, December’s New Home Sales report is yet one more signal that the housing market recovery may be underway.
According to the Census Bureau, the number of new Read More→
Tax Due Dates for January 2012
By · Comments| January 10 | Employees - who work for tips. If you received $20 or more in tips during December, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070, Employee’s Report of Tips to Employer. |
| January 17 | Employers - Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule Read More→ |
5 Simple Ways To Declutter Your Home
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When a home is listed for sale, its “clutter” can be the difference between a rapid sale and no sale at all.
Clutter, in its strictest sense, is defined as anything untidy; or in a disorderly state. In real estate, the term is broadened to include unnecessary furniture pieces; unwieldy Read More→
After 3 consecutive months of growth, the housing market appears to have eased a bit in December.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, December’s Pending Home Sales Index slipped 4 percent from the month prior. The index measures the number of homes under contract to sell nationwide, but not Read More→
California December Home Sales
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An estimated 37,734 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 15.5 percent from 32,669 in November, and up 4.2 percent from 36,215 for December 2010. California sales for the month of December have varied from a low of 25,585 in 2007 to a high of 66,503 in 2003, while the average is 44,063. DataQuick’s statistics go back to 1988.
The median price paid for a home last month was $246,000, up 0.8 percent from $244,000 in November, and down 3.1 percent from $254,000 for December 2010. The median has decreased on a year-over-year basis for the last fifteen months. The bottom of the current cycle was $221,000 in April 2009. The peak was $484,000 in early 2007. Read More→
Wednesday, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
The Fed Funds Rate has been near zero percent since December 2008.
For the third consecutive month, the Fed Funds Rate vote was nearly unanimous. Just Read More→
The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from a scheduled 2-day meeting today, its first of 8 scheduled meetings this year.
The FOMC is a designated, rotating, 12-person committee within the Federal Reserve, led by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Members of the FOMC sub-committee are the voting members of Read More→
