Category: News

Economic reports last week gave signs that inflation may finally be slowing down. As a result, mortgage rates dropped significantly, Freddie Mac reported, the 30-year fixed-rate dropped to an average of 6.61% down from 7.08% the week before. This was the largest weekly drop in over 40 years, since 1981. Freddie Mac economist Sam Khater noted, “while the decline in mortgage rates is welcome news, inflation remains elevated, there is still a long road ahead for the housing market.” If you are considering buying, please contact us regarding pre-qualifying or a rate lock. Fill out our quick pre-qual app on our website to get started.

As a military family you may be accustomed to moving often and not having a permanent address. Just as soon as you feel settled in, you may receive orders to move, so here are some tips to help with buying and selling for military families. Active service personnel receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) which varies on location, pay grade and number of dependencies, which they can use for renting or buying. Buying a home may offer lower monthly payments and the chance of appreciation, but if you think there is a good chance you will be transferred in the next couple of years, you may want to rent as you would be looking at having to recoup buying and selling costs. If you do think you are in a…

We’re often surprised that many homeowners don’t know about second mortgages. First a second mortgage is like the name says, a loan in addition to your primary mortgage, that allows you to borrow money using your home as collateral and the first mortgage is not yet paid off. The second mortgage also like the name says, is second to the original mortgage. In case of default, the first mortgage is paid off first. As such the interest rates are generally higher than first mortgages but amounts borrowed are usually much lower, as well (of course you will need to have equity in your home to qualify for a second mortgage). One benefit of a second mortgage is getting money needed for expenses, such as tuition or renovations at an interest…

Nationally, we have been in a seller’s market for quite some time, but there are signs that maybe changing. The seller’s market was fueled by tight inventory and high demand, and was punctuated with bidding wars and cash offers. A move towards a buyer’s market would mean that houses stay on the market longer and prices stabilize or even drop. Signs of a buyers market include, higher inventory, prices getting lowered, the aforementioned increase in days on market, as well as things like incentives offered by the seller such as help with closing costs or renovations. The old adage about everything in real estate being local means that some areas maybe in a buyer’s market while others not so much. And while it might not be a buyer’s market, it…

As the Federal Reserve has indicated lowering inflation is a top priority and raising short term interest rates as its primary tool to do this, we have seen mortgage markets react with higher rates (mortgage rates are not directly tied to the Fed rate, but they often move in the same direction). The 30 year rate moved up to 5.89% this week accord B ing to Freddie Mac. While these rates are higher than pandemic lows, the still fall into the historic “normal” range. While the Fed is taking a strong position against inflation, we are seeing market conditions improve in some areas. As Dawit Kebede, an economist for the Credit Union National Association noted recently, “there are signs that some of the main drivers of inflation are easing, such…

If you are thinking about selling your home and want to maximize your value without taking on major renovations here are some quick and (relatively) easy things you can do. 1. Update the hardware – if you have dated or weathered knobs, mirrors, handles, faucets switching them out with more modern ones can make things look a lot fresher. 2. Paint – this is one of the most obvious ones but a fresh coat of paint (or two) can work wonders. 3. Go Green – adding plants can make things look a lot livelier. 4. Deep clean the bathrooms – if you have grout or stains they can be a big eye sore. 5. Deep clean the outdoors – a power washer can make a huge difference on a dirty…

Today we are going to discuss two common mortgage loan products, and the pros and cons of both: FHA versus Conventional Loans. Many people are familiar with the 20% down, good credit 30 year fixed conventional loan scenario. FHA loans are designed for people who have difficulty qualifying for a conventional loan to buy a house. FHA Loans offer down payments as low as 3.5% and are more lenient on credit scores and past financial issues. Borrowers can qualify for FHA loans with as low as 580 credit scores. One of the downsides of FHA loans are mortgage insurance requirements, if you put down less than 10% you will be required to pay monthly insurance for the duration of the loan, as well paying Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium. The best…

If you are shopping for a new home and looking for some good market news, there is some in the increase of housing supply. After dealing with monthly price increases and bidding wars, because demand was far higher than supply, we are looking a somewhat more balanced market (but still a seller’s market in most areas). According to the National Association of Realtors the stockpile of homes in months of supply has dropped from a record low of just 1.6 month in January and has slowly ticked up to 3.3 months in July. So while it is still a seller’s market conditions are moving towards more balance – if you are looking, go to our website and fill out our pre-qual analysis to see how much you can qualify for…

A lot of young Americans went to college, studied hard but in addition to getting a diploma, they also graduated with debt. Having loans is not a deal breaker but it will factor into the important debt-to-income (or DTI) ratio, and mortgage underwriters are primarily looking at the numbers so having it be student loan debt isn't different from a car loan in the math. Strategies to get approved with student loan debt Pay it down - this maybe easier said than done but if you have extra money or got a raise then try to pay down the debt Consolidate it - if you can consolidate your debt and lower your monthly payment (even not the overall loan amount) this will help your monthly DTI ratio Co-sign - this…

You don't have to be a news hound to know about inflation these days. You may have also heard about the Federal Reserve aggressively raising its main borrower rate to help combat inflation. As we previously noted, long term mortgage rates are not directly tied to the Fed rate. So while home loan rates have gone up from their historic lows of a year ago, this week rates actually dropped significantly for 30 year mortgages. According to Freddie Mac the 30-year rate fell considerably to 4.99% down from 5.3% last week. The average long-term US mortgage rate fell below 5% for the first time in four months, days after the Federal Reserve jacked up its main borrowing rate in an aggressive effort to get inflation under control. The 30-year rate…