HELOCs the next home credit product?

Highest level of home equity loans since June 2009. A total of 797,865 home equity lines of credit were originated nationwide, up 20.6% from a year ago and the highest level since the 12 months ending June 2009, according to RealtyTrac. The report also shows HELOC originations accounted for 15.4% of all loan originations nationwideContinue

Mortgage Rates Drop After Fed Minutes

Mortgage Rates put on quite the show today after Fed minutes announcement, resulting in the lowest rates we have seen since June 2013. Today’s improvement was all about the Fed. Investors who trade securities that dictate mortgages, were concerned about last month’s Fed Announcement that could it justify a higher move in rates.  That speculation contributed to the increasesContinue

Fannie Mae sets new rates effective October 14

Fannie Mae is set to raise the benchmark interest rate for its Standard Modification program. Fannie Mae will raise its required interest rate for standard modifications from 4.375% to 4.5%.  The rate was lowered from 4.5% to 4.375% on Sept. 15, but will now rise again in one week. Fannie Mae announced the change onContinue

Borrowers may now have a chance to build equity fast

Two major banks have agreed to originate a new 15-year mortgage under pilot programs aimed at low- and moderate-income borrowers. In addition, the creators of the so-called Wealth Building Home Loan,   allows home buyers to build equity at a much faster clip than they would with a standard 30-year loan. Typically, the monthly payment onContinue

Home sales show encouraging stats

Existing home sales, excluding distressed sales, are the most encouraging stats at the moment. These, according to Trulia and the National Association of Realtors, were 80 percent back to normal in August. Trulia’s Bubble Watch also showed that prices were 3.4 percent undervalued in the third quarter, which is a marked improvement over the 13.5 percentContinue

Your Home: Modern or Traditional?

Nothing is extra comfortable than coming back to our homes, full of heat and love after taking care of  stack of issues at work. Decorating or redesigning our homes should not be thought as an expensive or complicated activity. We have to make sure that the design we choose will be sophisticated rather than unnecessary.Continue

Mortgage Rates slightly higher

Mortgage rates are higher today, leaving September as one of only 3 months this year with noticeable upward movement. And today was an exception to that recent trend, but it’s tempered by the fact that yesterday’s gains were the best of the month. The only downside is that the most prevalently-quoted conforming 30yr fixed rateContinue

Septiembre: Notable crecimiento en la confianza del consumidor.

La confianza del consumidor alcanzó su nivel más alto desde la gran recesión en Septiembre, según las encuestas realizadas por  la Universidad de Michigan y Thomson Reuters a los consumidores.  Este reporte reflejó  las perspectivas optimistas sobre la economía en general  así como de los  ingresos personales. El índice de las expectativas del consumidor  aumentóContinue

September: Highest Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence reached its highest level since the Great Recession in September, according to the Thomson Reuters and University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. September’s increase in consumer confidence is the result of optimistic outlooks on the overall economy and personal incomes.  The consumer expectations index rose 5.8 percent over the month of September, while theContinue

80,000 Foreclosures prevented!

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indicated in its report on foreclosure prevention  for Q2 2014 released on September 24, that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac  prevented nearly 80,000 foreclosures nationwide in the second quarter, raising the total number of foreclosures prevented since the start of the conservatorship in September 2008 to 3.3 million. The measures takenContinue