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Hi, everyone. This is just a quick note that I won't be blogging until after the New Year. I'll be spending the next week (in order): Spending time with family Working with clients Performing blog maintenance The time between this...

I am a regular participant in the Bankrate.com Mortgage Rate Trend survey and this week's survey is now available. Note: the survey only covers conforming loans. If you are a jumbo, Alt-A, or sub-prime mortgage holder, the survey is not...

Through the constant onslaught of dire news in the mortgage markets, did you notice that the average 30-year fixed-rate, conforming mortgage rate was 6.20% according to Freddie Mac?
Compare this with the average rates each year since 2000:

Period
Rate

November 21, 2007
6.20%

2006
6.41%

2005
5.87%

2004
5.84%

2003
5.83%

2002
6.54%

2001
6.97%

2000
8.05%

Not too bad!
Of course, lending guidelines are now more strict. It’s more difficult and more expensive to [...]

The most popular question asked of the average loan officer is “What’s your rate?” Good question, but it’s like asking a car salesman “How much is a car?”
My clients know that there are considerations more important than rate alone in achieving the optimal financial picture. Still, every loan has a rate, and I always tell [...]

The Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index rose by 1.8% in August versus a year ago. Core PCE measures price changes in consumer goods and services, excluding volatile food and energy components.
This is the third consecutive month that year-over-year Core PCE growth has come in under 2%, significant because the Fed considers 1-2% to be [...]

Jonathan Clements has an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal today about what to do with your personal finances if you are worried about a recession.
One of the key items is setting up a home-equity line of credit (HELOC) as an emergency source of funds, and I am reminded of an article I wrote [...]

Today, I take a break from all the talk of the Federal Reserve and give you an article I wrote in February about taxes and real estate:
April is around the corner, and we all know what that means. It’s tax season again. And that merits a discussion on income taxes and homeownership.
Most of you already [...]

Yesterday Ben Bernanke and crew lowered the target Federal Funds rate by .50%.
While this was reported as a surprise by many, futures trading prior to the cut indicated a 100% certainty of at least a .25% cut and the effective Federal Funds rate had been waffling around a .25% cut for nearly six weeks.
Neither futures [...]

Translation: It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day at the Federal Reserve.
Would you believe that today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day? You can read about it in Wikipedia and see it in action at pirate.oodle.com.
Using the trusty English-to-Pirate translator, I’ve translated yesterday’s Federal Open Market Committee statement into pirate speak.
What a waste of time…
The [...]

Sure, all the cool people are watching the Fed today, but wouldn’t you rather watch a dinosaur stomp on your favorite website?
Click here or the picture below to see!