Real Estate Blog LA

This morning's GDP revision for the 4th quarter came in a little higher or stronger than last month's previous estimate of 5.7%. Today's release showed a 5.9% rate of growth, meaning economic activity was stronger than many had thought. This headline number is bad news for bonds and mortgage rates because a strengthening economy ...

Homeowners with FHA-insured mortgage loans who are experiencing financial hardship are now eligible for loss mitigation assistance before they fall behind on their mortgage payments. Previously, these homeowners were not eligible for such assistance until after they had missed payments. The Helping Families Save Their Home Act of 2009 signed into ...

If you have a good job and good credit, the next few months might be a good time to go house hunting. Fence-sitters take the risk that Congress may let a rich tax credit expire, and that interest rates may rise. Buyers and sellers should consider the following factors as they consider jumping into the housing market. -Mortgage rates are ...

Ten-year-note yields dropped 2 basis points, or 0.02%, to 3.33%. They earlier touched 3.28%, the lowest since May 20. Yields move inversely to bond prices and mortgage rates. Benchmark 10-year notes are on track to score a fifth weekly gain after the government's sale of $70 billion in notes and bonds attracted strong demand from investors. In ...

It is with great pleasure to post my Interview with one of my favorite Lenders Dean Wong at First Capital Mortgage. (His contact is at the end of my post). Tom: Hello Dean. How are you doing? Dean:Great Tom Tom: 1).I have heard that there are some changes in the Appraisal Process for new sales. What are they and how does that impact my Buyer and ...

As I mentioned before, added supply has been one of the main culprits behind the recent sell-off in Bonds and corresponding climb in home loan rates. So where is that supply coming from? First, all those refinances you've heard about lately are actually turned into Mortgage Backed Securities after they're closed, which adds more Bonds to ...

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.01 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending Jan. 8, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.10 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s latest results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS). Multifamily loans are generally priced relative to Treasury yields. Since 10-year ...

Income tax, sales tax, estate tax, excise tax, alternative minimum tax...and just when you thought you'd paid them all...along comes your property tax bill as a homeowner. But did you know that the National Taxpayers Union estimates that as many as 60% of homes are assessed for too high of a value, resulting in an incorrectly larger property ...

This week, look for the Fed to cut the Fed Funds rate (the rate for overnight loans between banks) by a half point, to 0.50 percent. While a cut by the Fed often causes home loan rates to rise (because a Fed cut can lead to inflation, which is the arch enemy of Bonds and home loan rates), the deflationary environment we are currently in may ...

That was indeed the question of the week...and the final answer came on Friday, as the House of Representatives followed the Senate's lead and passed the $700 Billion rescue plan. The week began with the House initially voting against the plan on Monday, causing Stocks to plunge in their final minutes of trading to their single worst loss in ...