Americans Sitting on Trillions in Tappable Equity

Americans are sitting on a nearly unprecedented level of untapped wealth – or maybe sitting IN it is more to the point.  A report from Black Knight notes the first quarter of this year saw the “tappable” equity Americans have in their homes rose at what could be a record pace.  The company says tappable equity growth …

Could The Top Already Be In For Rates?

(Most of this newsletter lays out a counterpoint to the fairly dominant theme of “higher rates in 2018.” Please note: this is just the bright side of the debate. There’s still a dark side, but we’re giving it the week off for Spring Break!) It’s no secret that late 2017 and early 2018 were anything …

Fannie/Freddie Need Your Money Again, But Not Like They Used To

BY: JANN SWANSON Feb 15 2018, 12:32PM   While the prospect of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needing taxpayer money conjures up images of a failing mortgage market requiring a government bailout, that’s very far from the case this time around.  In fact, taxpayers continue to come out way ahead with respect to the GSEs’ conservatorship …

Stellar Home Sales and Tax Bill’s Effect on Housing Newsletter 01012018

Revisiting Stellar Home Sales and Tax Bill’s Effect on Housing Weekly Newsletter Dec 29, 2017 3:37 PM ET  There were several interesting developments with relevance to the housing market last week.  Rather than let important information fall by the wayside amid the holiday season, this week’s newsletter will largely be a reprint of last week’s.  Interest rate …

Newsletter 12212017

Calmer Day, But It Still Confirms a Weaker Trend By: Matthew Graham Today was much calmer than yesterday in terms of intraday volatility.  The overall trading ranges in 10yr yields and MBS were more than twice as narrow.  But in each case, those ranges occurred almost completely outside yesterday’s ranges… on the unfriendly side. In …

You now may be able to get a mortgage even if your FICO score isn’t great

By Kenneth R. Harney August 26 If you’ve got a low FICO credit score but believe you can handle monthly mortgage payments instead of rent, here’s some potentially good news: The government is willing to give you a better shot at obtaining a low-down-payment home loan from the Federal Housing Administration. Under a key policy …