The Home Price Index Shows Home Values Increasing. Case-Shiller Agrees.
It's official -- home prices are no longer in free fall. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Home Price Index posted its first quarterly increase since 2007 last quarter. The news was reported Tuesday. The Home Price Index is an interesting metric. It's huge in its scope, accounting for every home sold in the country that backs a mortgage bound for Fannie Ma

Existing Home Sales Blow Past Expectations
Another month, another piece of evidence that the housing market is in recovery. Existing Home Sales surged in October as the nation's homebuyers took advantage of low mortgage rates, low list prices, and, for some, a generous tax credit. Home resales are

What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : November 23, 2009
Mortgage markets worsened last week on a mixed bag of economic data. Inflation data came in soft, but so did the start of the holiday shopping season. For the first time in a month, mortgage rates worsened last week, adding roughly 0.125 percent on conforming fixed-rate products, and a little bit more on ARMs. Despite rates worsening, there was still some good news for home buyers and would-be refinancers. Mortgage rate volatility was markedly lower than in recent weeks. You could shop for mortgage rate last

Should You Consider A 15-Year Fixed Mortgage?
For today's home buyers and homeowners that can manage the higher monthly payments, 15-year fixed rate mortgage rates look attractive as compared to comparable 30-year products. The 15-year/30-year interest rate spread is near its 5-year high. Despite lower rates, however, homeowners opting for a 15-year fixed mortgage should be prepared for its higher monthly payments. This is because the principal balance of a 15-year fixed is repaid in half the years as with a standard, 30-year amortizi

Housing Starts Are Down And Why It's Terrific News For Sellers
A "Housing Start" is a home on which construction has started and, for the 4th straight month, national single-family housing starts held steady last month. When the demand for homes grows faster than the number of homes for sale, prices increase. As recent home sales data confirms, buyers currently outpace sellers and one consequence of this is an increase in multiple-offer