From the monthly archives: February 2009

Best Affordable Suburbs

On February 27, 2009 By

Nationwide, home affordability has received a serious boost from the combination of falling home prices and falling mortgage rates.

Today, because of the sagging economy, in most parts of the country, the cost of owning a home versus renting one is now very close to its historical average.

That said, though, [...]

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Bad Reporting on Today's Existing Home Sales Report

On February 26, 2009 By

In reading the headlines this morning, you”d think that last month”s Existing Home Sales figure signaled more trouble ahead for the housing market.

Quite the contrary.

Beyond the attention-grabbing headlines is the real story; the one that shows — once again — that housing market fundaments are coming back into balance.

As [...]

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Relative Cost Of Owning Versus Renting Is Back At Historical Norms

On February 25, 2009 By

One popular housing theory is that — before a bona fide housing recovery can begin — the cost of owning a home versus renting one must return to historical levels.

If that belief is a truth, a national return to rising home prices may be in store for 2009.

Falling home prices [...]

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County-By-County: The 2009 High-Cost Conforming Loan Limits

On February 24, 2009 By

As part of the stimulus package passed last week, Congress authorized a temporary increase to conforming loan limits in certain high-cost parts of the country.

“High cost” is defined by a region’s median sales price.

With the temporary increase, a greater share of Americans can now qualify for Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans, usually [...]

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What's Driving Mortgage Rates This Week

On February 23, 2009 By

Traders brushed off Tuesday and Wednesday”s passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the President”s mortgage relief plan, respectively.

It showed how unsure markets remain about the stimulus package and its probable impact on the economy.

As a result, mortgage markets worsened last week, albeit slightly. It marked the 4th week out of [...]

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2009 Conforming Loan Limits Return To $729,750 In High-Cost Areas

On February 20, 2009 By

Everything old is new again.

Conforming mortgages are limited by loan size, based on “typical” housing costs around the country. The current conforming limit on a single-unit property is $417,000.

In 2008, as part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, Congress authorized conforming loan limits increases in “high-cost” areas around [...]

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What The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan Doesn"t Mean To Homeowners

On February 19, 2009 By

In Mesa, Arizona, Wednesday, the President presented the Homeowner Affordability and Stability plan, a multi-pronged effort to support the housing market.

The story made the front page of nearly every newspaper in the country.

The president”s plan is sweeping:

Incent mortgage servicers to work with at-risk homeowners before delinquency starts Let homeowners [...]

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Who Qualifies for the Mortgage Relief Plan?

On February 19, 2009 By

There was an absolute surge on our website regarding the mortgage relief plan yesterday.

Let’s start with one key detail:  NO ONE QUALIFIES TODAY.   This program will not be live until on or after March 4, 2009.  There is no program today.  After that time, the structure of the program is probably best described as [...]

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How The Stimulus Bill Indirectly Lowered Mortgage Rates

On February 18, 2009 By

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law Tuesday in Denver, Colorado. Also Tuesday, stock markets fell near their November 2008 lows.

The two moves are related.

With each new stimulus; with each potential jumpstart of the economy, Wall Street questions whether the federal push will be enough [...]

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Mortgage Rate Forecast – Week of Feb. 17, 2009

On February 17, 2009 By

In anticipation of a strong, government-led stimulus plan, mortgage markets improved with fervor early last week only to fizzle with equal speed as efforts fell short of expectations.

Neither the Fed, nor the Treasury nor Congress gave markets what they wanted.

Between Monday and Friday, mortgage markets were essentially unchanged, ending a 4-week slide. From [...]

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