The Fed Funds Rate Does Not Directly Impact Mortgage Rates - Aug 14 10:28 AM
It's been on the news a few times lately, so let's address a key misconception about the Fed and its relationship to mortgage rates.
The markets now anticipate that the Fed will lower the Fed Funds Rate within the next 45 days. As a mortgage rate shopper, there's not much reason to be interested. That's because the Fed Funds Rate is not directly tied to mortgage rates.
The chart above is courtesy of HSH Associates ...
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Like The Fed Funds Rate, The Fed's Discount Rate Does Not Control Mortgage Rates - Aug 21 02:03 PM
Friday, the Federal Reserve lowered its Discount Rate by 0.50% in an effort to preserve liquidity among our nation's banks.
This has nothing to do with mortgage rates that people like you and I get for our homes. Well, not directly at least.
The Discount Rate is the rate at which banks borrow money from the Federal Reserve. It is different from the Fed Funds Rate, which is the rate at which banks borrow from each ...
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Where are we going, and why are we in this Handbasket? - Oct 19 02:17 AM
I really wish there was some sort of easy solution to the deteriorating market that we're seeing, but I seriously doubt we've hit the bottom just yet. I have a couple of points to make in this post, and they are very closely related, so I'd like to apologize in advance if this gets too long:
The first thing I'd like to discuss is the declining market. Yes, there are pockets nationally that are ...
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The Week In Review (October 9, 2007) : What to Watch For - Oct 09 03:58 PM
As expected, the big news last week was the Non-Farms Payroll report. What wasn't expected, though, was the strength of the report. Mortgage rates ended the week on a large up-tick.
110,000 jobs were created in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This exceeded Wall Street expectations by 10% and -- in isolation -- shows that the economy may be stronger than economists think.
But the monthly jobs report also included a major ...
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How Today's Jobs Report Impacts Mortgage Rates - Sep 07 10:15 AM
This morning, the government reported that the U.S. economy lost 4,000 jobs in August. Led by losses in manufacturing and construction, this is the first time since 2003 that the economy has failed to add jobs in any given month.
Markets had been expecting a job gain of roughly 110,000, but many players on Wall Street had been placing their bets to the weak side of that figure.
Very few (if any) expected a number ...
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What Happened to the Promised Drop in Mortgage Rates? (An Analysis) - Jan 24 04:59 PM
News we all know already - The Fed dropped the Fed Funds rate by 3/4 of a point to 3.5% on Tuesday. Banks quickly matched that and dropped the Prime Lending rate to 6.5%.
Now the question is why are bonds falling and conversely mortgage rates appearing to rise?
Initially, when the rate cut was announced a euphoria developed causing bond pricing to improve and mortgage rates to fall. If you were able to catch this ...
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The Market Of Opportunity!! - Nov 15 12:01 AM
I don't know about you, but I am tired of hearing all the gloom and doom on T.V about the market we're in! This is the market of opportunity! Buyers finally have a choice, well, lots of choices and that's a good thing! Mortgage rates are still favorable and lenders want to get you financed! Sellers don't despair, get yourselves good agents and listen to them. We know what we're talking about. So, yes you may have to make some ...
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What Happens on the National Real Estate Scene Shouldn't Matter to You - Sep 26 05:05 PM
The National Association of Realtors® released its monthly Existing Home Sales report for August 2006 and, as usual, you should be ignoring it.
The report discusses real estate on a national level and we all know that real estate is a local phenomenon.
It's not that the report isn't helpful -- it is. The Existing Home Sales report paints a broad picture of our nation's housing market which has implications for the economy as a whole. ...
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The Week In Review (September 4, 2007) : What To Watch For - Sep 04 11:55 AM
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took to the pulpit Friday in Jackson Hole, but his remarks made little impact on mortgage bond trading.
The Fed is aware of economic issues related to housing and mortgage debt, Bernanke said.
He implied that the Fed wants more evidence that inflation has slowed before taking more drastic measures to help the economy, including reducing the Fed Funds Rate.
Friday morning, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge -- Personal Consumptions ...
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January Sales Data Is Now Available - Feb 12 06:32 PM
I always enjoy this time of the month because sales figures are released on the 10th and I really enjoy looking at the numbers to see how they compare to what I hear in the news. I will go ahead and get straight to the point.
The sales figures are as follows:
Anne Arundel County - Average Sold Price increased 0.39% in January 2008 compared to January 2007 while the Median Sold Price fell -4.38% for the same time. ...
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Open Letter to My Fellow Realtors - Oct 31 10:01 PM
Fellow Realtors. . You better listenIs time to take a standI’m not talking about taxes on our commissions or Supra Key malfunctions.What I’m talking about is the way the media is attacking our live hood.We depend in our commissions to pay our own mortgages but yet we seem to be the target for a major negative propaganda that is emanating form the news media everyday They seem to be creating a frenzy by reporting that homeowners ...
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MARYLAND REAL ESTATE MARKET PRICE TRENDS - Dec 22 05:53 PM
Single Family Detached Homes Sold in Maryland in November 2007 / 2006November 2007 2006 Anne Arundel County homes sold $505,213 $483,791 Baltimore County homes sold $438,628 $384,922 Calvert County homes sold $402,613 $400,961 Carroll County homes sold $405,480 $413,978 Charles County homes sold $392,354 $411,576 Frederick County homes sold $397,916 $437,740 Harford County homes sold $355,674 $385,461 Howard County homes sold $559,959 $645,805 Montgomery County homes sold $689,594 $689,066 Prince George's ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - May 07 08:35 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
One more day till scheduled economic news comes out - Jobless Claims. We are still in a mode where bonds are taking directions from stocks and other rumors coming out (FNMA not doing well, oil going up resulting in higher ...
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY HOMES SOLD BY SHORT SALE AND FORECLOSURE SALES 2008 - May 04 11:54 AM
MONTGOMERY COUNTY MARYLAND REAL ESTATE IS A BUSY PLACE. HOMES ARE SELLING BY SHORT SALE AND BY FORECLOSURE SALES. Compare the List Price to the Closed Price in the homes below that closed in Montgomery County real estate in 2008.
SHORT SALES CLOSED JANUARY 1, 2008 THROUGH APRIL 30, 2008 - Montgomery County, Maryland.
Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.
Homefinders.com Network of Maryland Agents and Brokers Are Full Time REALTORS®By working with buyer's agents who are REALTORS®, ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, April 8, 2008 - Apr 08 08:08 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Though bonds will be taking their lead from stocks this morning, the report that could have an impact will be released later today - the minutes from the Fed's last meeting. Stock and Bond traders alike will be looking to ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - Jan 23 07:57 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Though a slow week in terms of scheduled economic news, it has been a busy week in terms of fears, over reacting, and amazing events. Yesterday, the Fed dropped the Fed Funds rate 3/4 of a point down to 3.5%, ...
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Foreclosures & Short Sales - Feb 13 08:52 PM
Foreclosures on the rise! The mortgage meltdown is still unfolding. The news keeps talking about all of the foreclosures. They keep posting terrifying numbers. They keep blaming the loan companies for predatory lending, like Our Mayor Sheila Dixon in Baltimore city suing Wells Fargo for "reverse red lining" defined as a predatory lending practice. Really who is to blame...the buyer, the loan officer, the bank, the investors on Wall Street, or _______? I mean how did ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Monday, March 17, 2008 - Mar 17 08:42 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Surprise and rare move by the Fed last night. The Fed lowered the discount lending rate to 3.25%. This tells us two things - 1) The Fed is attempting to show they are on top of the situation (personally I ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Friday, February 22, 2008 - Feb 22 07:59 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.With no economic reports out today, stocks will be driving the bus for bonds and mortgages today.Technically speaking - the FNMA 5.5% 30 year bond really hit the 100 day moving average with a resounding thud. It tried twice to break ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - Apr 15 07:41 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Producer Price Index was released just a little bit ago. The overall index jumped by nearly .5% while the core index (excluding food & energy) remained constant. The NY Manufacturing survey showed a surprise jump as well. This show increased ...
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MARYLAND REAL ESTATE HOMES SOLD JULY 2007 - MARKET REPORT - Aug 27 06:17 PM
MARYLAND REAL ESTATE HOMES SOLD IN JULY 2007 - DETACHED SINGLE FAMILY HOMES
Photos represent homes in the average price range for the areas. SOLD in Harford County real estate - July 2007159 homes SOLD in JulyThe lowest price sold was $127,900. 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, 1850 The highest price sold was $999,000. 8 bedrooms, 7 baths, new construction - FallstonAverage price sold July 2007 was $397,914
SOLD - Baltimore County real estate - July 2007 389 ...
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MORTGAGE MELTDOWN or CORRECTION - Aug 17 03:46 PM
Wow!!! We are in the most tumultuous mortgage market many of us have ever seen regardless of experience level. What is happening? The implosion of the sub prime market, the poor performance Alt-A mortgages and the rate of foreclosures on other non-conforming mortgage loans, have created the "perfect storm". As a result you may be hearing a phrase like "liquidity crunch". This simply means that there is an ever shrinking pool of investors that will buy ...
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Montgomery County MD Home Price Statistics - Feb 04 12:20 PM
The Washington Post recently compiled data from the MLS showing the changes in the average home sale price across Montgomery County, comparing the fourth quarters of 2006 to 2007.
The results prove, once again, that real estate is about location, location, location.
Certain zip codes reportedly showed an increase in sales price, most notably Poolesville, Gaithersburg and parts of Rockville, Boyds and Germantown. Huge areas across the county saw drops of anywhere from 2% to 19%. Some ...
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Locking / Floating Interest Rates - The Weekend Edition - Jan 19, 2008 - Jan 19 05:13 PM
ok - time to flagellate a deceased equine! (Beat a dead horse)If you have been following my weekday blogs (links provided below), you will see that consumers should have locked for the majority of the week even though stocks were getting worse and the economic news wasn't very good. The FNMA 5.5% 30 year bond had been trading near a major ceiling of resistance and was in a rather overbought state. The Producer Price Index (PPI) ...
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What is an Absorption rate and why should you care? - Apr 05 10:10 PM
Absorption rate for Cecil County, MD
The absorption rate is a figure that tells you how long it will take to sell your home in current market conditions.
Definition of Absorption Rate The rate at which properties are able to be leased or sold in a given area.
There are several ways to determine the absorption rate. For example you can break it down by how many weeks or months will it take to sell your home in the ...
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Soooo..How's The Market? - Mar 17 08:25 PM
So, how's the market?
I hear this question at least once a day and I'm happy to answer it each and every time.
Moreover, although it seems to be the obligatory question asked as soon as anyone knows I'm a REALTOR (and I have no idea how they find out since I tell everybody I meet w/in seconds of meeting them-HaHaHa!), it just never gets old (O.K., I'm stretching a little here).
So, how's the market? These days, I'm ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Monday, April 14, 2008 - Apr 14 07:52 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
This morning the Retail Sales report came out with a mixed bag. All sales was actually a 1/10% higher than expected, where as the less volatile report that doesn't include auto sales was lower by 1/10%. This couple with what ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Wednesday, April 9, 2008 - Apr 09 08:31 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Big news of yesterday was the release of the minutes from the last Fed meeting. A serious pessimism appears to be occurring amongst the Fed members that the economy could be in a continued downturn for the remainder of the ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Friday, March 28, 2008 - Mar 28 07:44 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Big news of the day - Personal Consumption Expenditures - came in exactly at expectations. This definitely shows inflation is currently in check. The bigger news of the day is personal income rising more than expected yet spending staying under ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - Mar 25 09:14 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Stocks rising on shareholders realizing their investment is worth more and demanding more - oh my. That's what happened yesterday with Bear Stearn's shareholders saying enough is enough. This "vote of confidence" shored up stocks yesterday and beat down bonds. The ...
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Housing Statitics for Febuary 2008 - Talbot County - Mar 25 07:38 AM
In February 2008 the Housing Statistics in Talbot County are as follows:
Units Sold: 27 (In 2007 there were 33 units which means we are down -18.2% compared to last year)
Average Price $544,000 (In 2007 the average price was $612,000)
Median Price $350,000 (In 2007 the median price was $425,000)
Units Under Contract: 33 (In Feb 07 there were 45 units under contract waiting to settle)
# of Units on the Market : 645 (In Feb 07 there were 585 houses for sale in Talbot County)
As you ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Friday, March 21, 2008 - Mar 21 10:02 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Both stock market and bond market are closed today for the holiday. Technically speaking - the FNMA 5.5% 30 year bond is caught in a tight trading range (at least as historic ranges go). Unfortunately, the last time in this range, ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Monday, March 10, 2008 - Mar 10 08:40 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.The Jobs Report that came out Friday - the worst in 5 years - had various markets worried. But as they say with the attention span of your average American only being a few minutes, the span of the investor ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Wednesday, March 5, 2008 - Mar 05 09:36 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.The Productivity report showed a slight improvement today. The Service Index which started a big move last month was also up today. Technically speaking - the FNMA 5.5% 30 year bond sank below the 100 day moving averages yesterday. After ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Thursday, February 21, 2008 - Feb 21 10:51 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.The Jobless Claims report came out this morning essentially in line with expectations. The big news of the day came out at 10 AM when the Philadelphia Index came in quite a bit lower than expected. This leads to the ...
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Bottom Of the Housing Market - Jan 15 11:03 PM
Let me first start out by saying that this Blog is the my opinion and is not the opinion of Keller Williams or NAR.
When I was a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch we studied a lot of charts. I vividly remember charts of money flows into mutual funds. Money flow is the amount of money coming into or leaving a particular financial instrument. Simply put, every year mutual funds would have a positive or negative flow ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Thursday, May 8, 2008 - May 08 07:52 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Jobless Claims came out this morning slightly lower than expected. Is this a statistical blip or is the economy improving? Productivity increased but hours worked decreased. Finally, labor costs increase but not as much as expected. All of this points ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Thursday, April 17, 2008 - Apr 17 09:15 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
All the rosy news that came out yesterday was for not. The stock market really liked it all, therefore since bonds move in the opposite direction of stocks, bonds took a major hit yesterday. One major item coming out was ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - Mar 11 08:09 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.No big news due out today. The Federal Reserve is attempting to promote liquidity in the market place by lending more money to banks and other financial institutions. Unfortunately, it's all a waiting game and seeing how everyone will react ...
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Montgomery County Real Estate News >> Foreclosures in Montgomery County - Jan 02 07:53 PM
(MONTGOMERY COUNTY REAL ESTATE) Foreclosures continue to be a hot topic in our region, though in Montgomery County we are still not so deeply affected as those states where economic decline or rampant speculation took place. Of the 4451 active homes for sale in Montgomery County, 406 of them have some distress words attached to their listing: foreclosure, short sale, REO, bank owned, or third party approval needed. About 11%.
In late October when I ran this data ...
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How The Stock Market Rally Changed Mortgage Pricing For The Worse - Aug 30 09:12 AM
Mortgage rates unexpectedly increased yesterday afternoon as the U.S. stock market staged a late rally. By the end of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up 1.9 percent, or 247.77 points. This is a typical pattern. When stocks are moving higher, investors want to ride the wave and look for sources of cash. Often, bonds serve as that source. Now, remember that mortgage rates are based on the price of mortgage bonds. When ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Thursday, April 3, 2008 - Apr 03 07:41 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.That "new fangled" report coming out yesterday? Well, they were a bit off. Jobless claims came in more than 10% higher than expected. This is good news for bonds. At 10 AM, the Services Index is released - if this ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Mar 27 07:52 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Auto Sales came under what was expected - should be good news; Jobless Claims were slightly more than expected - more good news; GDP came in at expectations - ambivalent news; the update to last weeks Jobless Claims showed an improvement - ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - Mar 19 08:02 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation..75% decrease! Wow. Who would of thought that the Fed would be dropping the target interest rates all the way down to 2.25%, i.e. the Prime Lending Rate is now 5.25%. The stock market went on a bender yesterday rising ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - Mar 18 08:06 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.It's official - let confusion reign. Housing starts actually went up last month! The Producer Price Index held steady but the Core PPI (strips away the 'volatile' food and energy numbers) was almost double the expected percentage. This coupled with ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Friday, March 7, 2008 - Mar 07 07:45 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Oh I feel like such a Scrooge! A really bad Jobs Report this morning which (you guessed it) is AWESOME for bonds. Yet, the unemployment rate fell by 0.2% - lower than analysts expected (not necessarily good news). Hourly earnings ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - Feb 19 07:28 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.No scheduled economic news is on tap for today. Therefore bonds will be taking direction from stocks. Futures for the 3 major markets show marked increases today. This alone has caused the bond to already fall 31 bps.Technically speaking - ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - Feb 12 08:09 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Again - with little scheduled economic news to take guidance from, bonds are looking for direction from the stock market or anything else that pops up. For instance - Warren Buffet offered to provide funds to the various bond insurers ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Monday, February 11, 2008 - Feb 11 08:30 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.With no economic news reports coming out until Wednesday bonds will be taking a general direction from stocks - currently in a holding pattern.Technically speaking - the FNMA 5.5% 30 year bond bumped up against the 25 day moving average on Friday ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Friday, February 1, 2008 - Feb 01 07:56 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Good News - Bad News. Unemployment fell by .1% - Payrolls were down 17,000 from an expected 70,000 being created. Average work week and earnings were also lower than expected. Mostly this is bad news for the economy, especially if fears ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - Jan 29 08:13 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Today the Durable Goods report came out for December. Good Economically speaking, the report show a rise of 5.2% almost triple what the pundits thought it would be. Another sign that perhaps the Fed reacted hastily in their decision last ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - Jan 22 07:29 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Slow week in planned economic news. The big news of today is the sell-off of global stocks on fears of a US recession. With Wall Street and the Dow Jones Industrial Average looking to plunge at the opening bell, bonds ...
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD REAL ESTATE SOLD, SEPTEMBER 1 through OCTOBER 31, 2007 - Nov 01 02:03 PM
Montgomery County MD homes, what's selling and what is not.There are 2,457 ACTIVE listings of Detached Single Family Homes for sale on November 1, 2007priced from $300,000 to $1,000,000. There are 2,967 ACTIVE listings of Detached Single Family Homes for sale on November 1, 2007,all prices, with a low of $235,000 to a high of $7,200,000.The average list price of Detached Single Family Homes for sale in Montgomery County is $772,360.The average list price of Detached ...
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Montgomery County Real Estate >> Foreclosures in Montgomery County - Deal or Dud? - Nov 21 11:21 AM
(BETHESDA REAL ESTATE) Foreclosures are such a hot topic in the news lately, causing most buyers to believe that they can find a home that's a steal. There a few states where the foreclosure impact is so significant and widespread that there are many opportunities for forward thinking investors to get great deals. But in Montgomery County there are still relatively few foreclosures that are listed in the MLS system.
Of the 5000 active properties in Montgomery ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - Apr 29 09:04 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Consumer Confidence came in lower than expected - though after Friday's report somewhat expected. Tomorrow, The Fed will more than likely be dropping rates another .25%. Since they are the Fed they will be privy to the reports being released ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Feb 13 07:51 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Big news today. The retail sales for January came better than expected. This means that stock traders will be looking to jump back into the market as earnings should start to pick up. Since most stock traders place their reserves into bonds, ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Monday, February 4, 2008 - Feb 04 08:00 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Little news due out this week. Bonds will be taking direction from stocks and other assorted (and sordid) news sources. Bonds appear to be following historic trends by dropping 22 bps just after opening today - just a few days ...
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MARYLAND WATERFRONT REAL ESTATE BLOG - Jan 11 11:12 AM
Here is a link to my "Jan. Real Estate Update".Click Here: http://www.michaels-realtytimes-newsletter.com/This Newsletter is full of interesting and useful information that I think you will enjoy whether you are a Buyer or a Seller.This month's issue includes topics such as:"Top 10 Tax Breaks, On The House". "Wondering What Your Home Is Worth". "Battle of the Warring Housing Price Indexes". "Mortgage Rates" "Smoothing The Rough Road To Refinancing". "Stone is a Growing Trend For Home Decor".Plus a ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - May 14 02:33 PM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Consumer Prices came in below target expectations today. Both the regular and the core were lower than expected. This rather tame reading on inflation, while normally good for bonds, has caused the stock market to improve markedly causing bonds ...
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Housing Statistic for Talbot County Maryland April 2008 - May 14 10:50 AM
In the Month of April 2008 Talbot County Maryland had 35 units sold compared to 43 in 2007 of April. This means for the month April 2008 compared to last April Talbot County Md is down -18.6%.
However the Average Price of a home went from $577,000 in 2007 to $597,000 (+3.4%)
The Median Price in 2007 was $335,000 and this April was $356,000
Pending Units for April 2008 is 32. In April 2007 Pending Units was 59.
Active Inventory for 2008 is ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - May 13 07:41 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Retail sales came in exactly on target. Unfortunately, sales minus the ever fluctuating auto industry came in better than expected. This will give encouragement to the stock market and feed a sell off of bonds - translating to an ...
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Germantown, Maryland 20874 and 20876 - Reale Estate Trends - May 12 08:45 AM
The Germantown real estate market is soft and that means that it is a buyers market area. It is interesting to note that zip code 20876 is having more difficulties than zip code 20874. In 20874, the average days on the market is 103 as compared to an average days on the market of 218 in 20876. Sellers should be prepared for the longer time that it takes to market the average home. Due to the ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Monday, May 12, 2008 - May 12 08:43 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
With a week filled with all sorts of economic news, bonds will be taking guidance from stocks today. Oil is up, negative earnings reports are still coming out, and a lethargy still hangs over the economy.
Technically speaking - ...
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The different home price index reports - part two - Mar 15 06:35 PM
In my last post I discussed the S&P Case Shiller home price index report. In this post I am going to discuss the OFHEO (Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight) home price index report. The OFHEO report also uses repeat sales of single family homes. The differences are that it also uses refinances and only uses mortgages that have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. It's data goes back to January, 1975. They ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - May 06 08:17 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Big news of the day - Fannie Mae reports a bigger loss than expected and cuts its quarterly dividend. While this isn't exactly going to roil the markets, it certainly shows the pain is not yet over. Since there aren't ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Friday, March 14, 2008 - Mar 14 07:48 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.Consumer Price Index came in below expectations this morning. While for the short term this is awesome news, it definitely signals that the Fed is on the right track for cutting rates again next week. Normally I would say, you ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Monday, May 5, 2008 - May 05 09:10 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Other than news of Microsoft not buying Yahoo for $46 billion, the only other real news is the non-manufacturers or services index came in higher than expected. Other than a brief dip in bond prices things are back up to ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Thursday, March 13, 2008 - Mar 13 08:02 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.WOW! The good/bad news is that Retail Sales fell through the floor. Instead of coming in at the expected level of a 0.2% increase, there was a drop of 0.2%. Mortgage backed securities should be having a field day. Instead ...
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Hiring a Realtor? READ THIS - Jan 20 08:46 PM
You are thinking about selling your home and buying your dream home. You have decided that you do not want to deal with trying to sell your home by yourselves and have decided to hire a realtor. How do you decide which realtor to hire? There are so many of them. Is there really a difference? Don't they all do the same thing?
This is a common question and I have been approached by many homeowners and ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Friday, May 9, 2008 - May 09 09:42 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Balance of Trade for last month was slightly lower. Yesterday, two European banks left interest rates unchanged as a fight against inflation. This helped bonds here in the U.S. tick up a few notches. The new record prices of ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - Mar 12 08:42 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients. As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.The Federal Reserve injecting the load of cash to the banking system yesterday delighted both the stock and bond markets. Stocks rose 400 points and bonds held steady (this is good news since bonds normally act in an inverse relationship ...
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Swimming Pool Homes in Montgomery County, Maryland - Jun 28 12:32 PM
Home | Meet Gregory | Listings | Relocating | Special Reports | Community Info | Email Gregory Maley Keller Williams Preferred Properties 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 102 • Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 Direct: 202.528.0495 • Office: 240.737.8119 Fax: 202.478.1735 • Toll Free: 877.217.2153 (c) 2007 Gregory D. Maley
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Swimming Pool Homes in Prince George's County, Maryland - Jun 28 11:53 AM
Home | Meet Gregory | Listings | Relocating | Special Reports | Community Info | Email Gregory Maley Keller Williams Preferred Properties 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 102 • Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 Direct: 202.528.0495 • Office: 240.737.8119 Fax: 202.478.1735 • Toll Free: 877.217.2153 (c) 2007 Gregory D. Maley
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Waterfront Homes in Montgomery County, Maryland - Jun 28 11:42 AM
Home | Meet Gregory | Listings | Relocating | Special Reports | Community Info | Email Gregory Maley Keller Williams Preferred Properties 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 102 • Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 Direct: 202.528.0495 • Office: 240.737.8119 Fax: 202.478.1735 • Toll Free: 877.217.2153 (c) 2007 Gregory D. Maley
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Waterfront Homes in Anne Arundel County, Maryland - Jun 28 11:15 AM
Home | Meet Gregory | Listings | Relocating | Special Reports | Community Info | Email
Gregory Maley Keller Williams Preferred Properties 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 102 • Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 Direct: 202.528.0495 • Office: 240.737.8119 Fax: 202.478.1735 • Toll Free: 877.217.2153 (c) 2007 Gregory D. Maley
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Waterfront Homes in Prince George's County, Maryland - Jun 28 10:34 AM
Home | Meet Gregory | Listings | Relocating | Special Reports | Community Info | Email Gregory Maley Keller Williams Preferred Properties 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 102 • Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 Direct: 202.528.0495 • Office: 240.737.8119 Fax: 202.478.1735 • Toll Free: 877.217.2153 (c) 2007 Gregory D. Maley
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CHARLES COUNTY, MD FORECLOSURE LIST UPDATE (5/9/2008) - May 08 01:44 PM
Foreclosures are up slightly in Charles County, and here is the latest list of properties available on the market that are bank-owned. It includes foreclosures in Waldorf, La Plata, White Plains, Newburg, Hughesville, and all of Charles County!
Bank Owned Homes For Sale in Charles County
If you have any questions, or would like to be added to our automatic daily updates, please give me a ring or drop me an ...
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Homes in Prince George's County, Maryland - Apr 25 03:14 PM
Home | Meet Gregory | Listings | Relocating | Special Reports | Community Info | Email
Gregory D. Maley Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Chevy Chase 5028 Wisconsin Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20016 Direct: 202.528.0495 • Office: 202.362.5800 Fax: 202.478.1735 (c) 2008 Gregory D. Maley
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - Apr 22 07:48 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
We are still a day from any regular scheduled economic reports. Therefore bonds will be taking some direction from stocks today.
Technically speaking - the FNMA 5.5% 30 year bond bounced above the 50 day and 100 day moving average yesterday. ...
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Prince George's County Real Estate Market Report, April, 2008 - Apr 18 02:46 PM
Team Benya's Monthly Market Report- P.G. County, Maryland
What's Happened:
The Prince George's County Market is without a doubt slanting more and more heavily towards buyers. Sellers are finding it increasingly difficult to sell and inventory of available homes is steadily growing. March 2008 saw roughly 400 homes sold in P.G., and more than 7,000 homes on the market!
There was a very slight growth in the number of pending settlements ...
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Homes in Prince George's County, Maryland - Apr 17 01:49 PM
Home | Meet Gregory | Listings | Relocating | Special Reports | Community Info | Email
Gregory D. Maley Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Chevy Chase 5028 Wisconsin Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20016 Direct: 202.528.0495 • Office: 202.362.5800 Fax: 202.478.1735 (c) 2008 Gregory D. Maley
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Cecil County rate of absorption - March 2008 - Apr 16 08:54 PM
Cecil County home sales rate of absorption - March 2008
The absorption rate for Cecil County, Maryland homes was 18.11 months for March 2008. February’s rate of absorption was 17.84 months.
What is an absorption rate?
View March’s market statistics for Cecil County
View February’s market statistics for Cecil County
<!--StartFragment -->Transferring to APG for BRAC? Military Relocation Guide to Aberdeen Proving Ground - BRAC
Relocating to Cecil County, Maryland? Cecil County Relocation Guide ...
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Harford County, Maryland rate of Absorption - March 2008 - Apr 16 08:44 PM
Harford County home sales rate of absorption - March 2008
The absorption rate for Harford County, Maryland homes was 10.91 months for March 2008. February’s rate of absorption was 13.28 months.
What is an absorption rate?
View March’s market statistics for Harford County
View February’s market statistics for Harford County
<!--StartFragment -->Transferring to APG for BRAC? Military Relocation Guide to Aberdeen Proving Ground - BRAC
Relocating to Cecil County, Maryland? Cecil County Relocation Guide ...
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Cecil County Real Estate Market Statistics March 2008 - Apr 14 11:26 PM
Cecil County Market Statistics, March 2008
Here are the latest Ceicl County market statistics. This report is released on the 10th of every month for the previous month. I will post the results here as soon as I can. Here are the
Cecil County Market Statistics
There are still too many Ceil County homes on the market. I thnk it will take awhile to sell all of the current inventory. The Spring market has arrived and things should improve.
If you have any ...
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Harford County Real Estate market statistics for March 2008 - Apr 14 11:16 PM
Harford County Market Statistics, March 2008
March's Harford County market statistics were recently released from my mls. This report is released on the 10th of every month for the previous month. I will post the results here as soon as I can. Here are the Harford County market statistics for March, 2008.
Harford County Market Statistics
There are still too many Harford County homes on the market, but it will take awhile to sell all of the current inventory. ...
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Should I float? Should I lock? - Daily Update for Friday, April 11, 2008 - Apr 11 09:19 AM
Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking if you are asked by your clients.
As always - consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.
Consumer Sentiment was reported this morning coming in lower than expected. This coupled with the negative news reported by GM is going to cause good things for rates.
Technically speaking - the FNMA 5.5% 30 year bond is currently resting on ...
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Harford County Absorption Rate for February 08 - Apr 10 10:55 PM
What is an Absorption rate? The absorption rate is a figure that tells you how long it will take to sell your home in current market conditions.
Definition of Absorption Rate The rate at which properties are able to be leased or sold in a given area.
There are several ways to determine the absorption rate. For example you can break it down by how many weeks or months will it take to sell your ...
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New Government Sponsored Website to Help Estimate Home Values - Apr 07 10:31 PM
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has a new feature on it's website which shows property valuation trends around the country. Although it's not as accurate as actually using our regional MLS statistical data for analyzing home values in our local area here in Montgomery County, Maryland; it's certainly interesting to view and "play" with the calculator they've posted. Check it out here...http://www.ofheo.gov/hpi.aspx#For a free competitive home market analysis, just send me an email at ...
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What is an Absorption rate and why should you care? - Apr 05 10:08 PM
Absorption rate for Cecil County, MD
The absorption rate is a figure that tells you how long it will take to sell your home in current market conditions.
Definition of Absorption Rate The rate at which properties are able to be leased or sold in a given area.
There are several ways to determine the absorption rate. For example you can break it down by how many weeks or months will it take to sell your home in the ...
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Commercial Mortgages - Headed for a Meltdown? - Mar 31 11:58 PM
With the steady decline and continued erosion of residential mortgage lending guidelines, the question lingers- will the commercial mortgage market follow?
The answer would appear to be "yes" to the average American seeing the economy screeching to a standstill. But as Mr. Miagy said in the Karate Kid, "Things are not always as they appear".
Commercial mortgages are not likely to see the crash that the residential markets have seen. There are several reasons for this.
Historically ...
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The different home price index reports - part three - Mar 17 11:51 PM
In part one I discussed the S&P Case Shiller home price index and in part two I discussed the OFHEO (Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight) home price index report. Today I am going to discuss the Radar Logic Daily Index. This report breaks down the price paid for homes by square footage. They use public source records to get this information. They update there report every day and do a 1 day, 7 day and ...
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Queen Anne's County Homes Outlook - Mar 17 10:44 PM
You need to be an informed seller or buyer, it is imperative to know what is happening in the current Queen Anne's County market- www.qachousingmarket.com. There are many factors to determining the proper price when listing a home for sale. There are just as many factors to help you decide whether you are getting good value for your dollar when you purchase a home. (click on graphic to enlarge).It appears that the bottom dropped out for ...
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Should a home sell for more or less than the Tax Assessment value? - Mar 08 04:30 PM
I'm pondering and researching tax assessment values vs. sale prices of homes recently sold in Potomac today. I've got a beautiful home listed at $789K*. It's 2008 tax assessment value is $871K. It's been on the market about 27 days now. We've had LOTS of showings, and I expect that it will be under contract any day now. However, we had one "low-ball" offer of $699K. When I asked the agent why her client could possibly have thought ...
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Mortgage Lenders Keep De-Stimulus Plan Alive - Mar 05 05:23 PM
At a time when the economy needs a shot in the arm to revive, it would seem that the government and big mortgage lending seem to be at odds. As the "mortgage meltdown" continues to grow, lenders are continuing to tighten guidelines at a record pace.
As fast as the government can find ways to relax FHA and conforming guidelines and lending limits, the big lenders are finding ways to protect their interest and tighten the ...
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Charles County Maryland Foreclosure Report: March, 2008 - Mar 01 11:40 PM
I'm seeing more and more foreclosures, and none of the government assistance programs seem to be helping stem the tide of foreclosures that we're currently seeing.
Do Foreclosures Affect My Home's Value?
In Charles County in the last 60 days, there have been 12 foreclosures that have been sold, and a total of 135 (resale AND REO) homes listed and sold. This means that foreclosures make up almost 9% of the total ...
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Recordation Tax on Refinances in Montgomery County, MD - Feb 27 07:25 PM
One of my loan officer buddies passed along the following e-mail about the new rules about refinancing. His name and contact information is at the bottom of the post ---This is updated information on how Montgomery County will treat refinances in light of the increase in recordation tax. The rate at which the county will collect any applicable recordation tax will not be based on the amount of “new money” (i.e., cash out) as previously believed, ...
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2007 Market Report for Howard County - Feb 22 11:24 PM
For 2007, Howard County saw the number of homes sold decrease from 4057 to 3467 (a 14.54% decrease), with a .58% increase in average price, from $453,751 to $456,372. The Average Days on Market increased from 55 to 86. The absorption rate is the number of homes absorbed (sold) in the market over a period of time. This is a useful measure when examining the market. Last year the market absorbed an average of 288 homes per ...
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CECIL COUNTY HOUSING TRENDS, RELOCATING, FINDING A REALTOR AND AGENT - Feb 17 04:28 PM
The housing trend for Cecil County looks very strong. I am excited about the numbers for the last quarter of 2007. Employment increased by 32 jobs dury July and August alone! The number of job seekers also increased. The solid job growth will help build housing demand, while historically low mortgage rates should continue to spur sales. Here are some statistics, Monthly unemployment rate from 3.8% for the second quarter to 4% in the first two months of ...
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The 2007 Real Estate Market: Bad or Good? - Feb 16 08:35 PM
When looking back at the 2007 residential real estate market, consideration should be given to both the number of sales and to the home prices. And depending on your point of view, the market has been bad (if you're a seller who just purchased in the last 2-3 years) or good (if you're a buyer and have more time and inventory to consider than you had previously thought possible).
In terms of the number of sales, consider ...
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2008 Montgomery County MD Real Estate Market Update & More information for buyers & sellers - Feb 12 08:08 PM
So now that we are just about 10% through 2008, I wanted to provide a factual update on the real estate market for Montgomery County MD. You can find stats for the complete Year of 2007here. So what has really happened thus far in 2008? Let’s take a look at these numbers and see both what they really are and some of what they mean. Currently, there are 4,928 homes for sale in our MLS for ...
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