Monthly Archives: October 2007

The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its two-day meeting this afternoon and is widely expected to lower the Fed Funds Rate. This does not mean that mortgage rates are being lowered, too. The definition of Fed Funds Rate from … Continue reading →

When a loan officer locks a mortgage rate for you, that rate is tied to an expiration date. The expiration may be 30 days, or 75 days, or 90 days, or more into the future, but so long as the … Continue reading →

If you bought your home sometime since March and your mortgage is a conforming home loan, you may be able to take advantage of the current mortgage market conditions. As of Friday, mortgage rates were near their lowest levels of … Continue reading →

The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to lower the Fed Funds Rate next week. For holders of credit cards and home equity lines of credit, this is good news. Both of these financial products feature interest rates tied … Continue reading →

The Wall Street Journal used a lot of ink this morning on September’s Existing Home Sales data, including the chart below. It’s frightening to the lay person who may not know how to interpret data like this. Remember: real estate … Continue reading →

Adjustable Rate Mortgages are mortgages for which the interest rate is subject to change over time according to pre-defined rules. ARM is a common acronym for Adjustable Rate Mortgage and every ARM has similar features: An initial fixed period during … Continue reading →

Monday was a flat day for stocks, and it was a flat day for bonds, too. Mortgage rates idled. Tuesday, with no economic data hitting the wires, market participants will be looking for direction elsewhere. Some likely candidates include: The … Continue reading →

Could we be running out of names for United States cities? Did you know that the most common city name in America is a tie between Franklin and Salem? There are 36 instances of each. According to Wikipedia, here are … Continue reading →

According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of Americans taking loans against their 401(k) plans is increasing because most plans allow participants to borrow funds to purchase a home or to avoid foreclosure. But just because the avenue is … Continue reading →

Once again, the headlines may be misleading you. It’s a good thing that Housing Starts dropped last month — despite what the papers say. A “housing start” is a new residence on which construction has started. Yesterday, the government released … Continue reading →