The National Association of Realtors reported today that existing homes sales were up 2.7% in January and up 5.3% from a year ago. Investors bought 23% of existing single family homes, condos, townhouses, and co-ops in January, and 32% of all existing home sales transactions were completed with all cash. NAR said the median existing
February 2011
Homeowner and rental vacancy statistics from the Census Bureau provide an interesting set of numbers indicative of renting vs. owning a home. There are roughly 131 million housing units in the United States, with about 86% of them being occupied. Of those units, 57% are occupied by owners, 29% by renters, and 14% (about 18
Rates are .2% lower today as investors flock to the safety of mortgage bonds (FNMA 30yr 4% coupon now up 50 basis points) while Middle East protests spread. It began in Tunisia, then Egypt, and now Libya where unemployment is 30% and citizens are again rising up against their leader Muammar Gaddafi. The difference with
The S&P Case Shiller December 2010 report of existing home prices showed average U.S. home prices declined 2.4% from December 2009. This is the seventh consecutive month of weaker data, which reflects sustained foreclosure volumes and high unemployment that are a drag on economic improvement. Home prices are at similar levels to what they were
What Loans Are In A Jumbo Mortgage Bond? Details of the latest Redwood Trust March 1st deal are emerging. The $290 million residential MBS are backed by 303 loans, roughly 2/3 from First Republic Bank and the rest by PHH Mortgage. The average loan size is $977,000 with a mix of 30-yr fixed rate and
Yesterday’s New York Times had a feature on Fox heir apparent James Murdoch which is worth reading for a glimpse of media’s future. Murdoch, 38, is the most likely of six children to succeed 80 year old Rupert as king of the Fox empire. It provides some hints into James’ political preferences and what that
Inkhorn is Dictionary.com’s word of the day today. It means pedantic, which describes someone who’s an obnoxious showoff about their knowledge and is overly concerned with unnecessary details. Pedantic is a very pedantic word, which is unfortunate because it so accurately describes so many people we all have to deal with every day. But now
Last week, rates were steady a second straight week following a .375% rate spike the first two weeks of February. This despite lots of data showing manufacturers are facing significant price inflation which may soon be passed onto consumers. Rates would normally rise on inflation data, but consumer inflation came in flat and rate markets
Here’s a snapshot of the week beginning Tuesday. Markets closed Monday for President’s Day. See current WeeklyBasis report on what it all means.
Currently 95% of home loans are controlled by the government using Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA, but U.S. Congress is reviewing 3 options to overhaul home financing in this country. Below we examine how this will materially change loans and rates available to you in the future. This is part 2 in a series,
Rally champ Juha Kankkunen drives Bentley Supersports Convertible 205mph sheet ice.
In the classic movie Big, Tom Hanks, a boy trapped in a man’s body, watches 40-something toy company executives pitch a new toy and responds with a simple boyish dissent: “I don’t get it.” This direct approach breathes new life into a staid environment, reinvents the toy, and the company goes gangbusters. It’s not quite
Consumer inflation was 0.4% for January and 0.2% if you strip out more volatile food and gas prices. On an annual basis, consumer inflation was also relatively flat at 1.6% total, and 1% excluding food and gas. All of these figures are tame, and this flat consumer inflation news has caused mortgage bonds to rally
Today is National Sweater Day in Canada. So in protest to the North country, I vow to leave my suit jacket on all day today. There’s also this cold weather tidbit from The Onion: Perfect Soup Weather Coming. Click soup map below for story (but the soup map is the highlight).
The jumbo market is making baby steps. Redwood Trust Inc. is marketing a $280 million residential mortgage-backed security, the first private deal of 2011, backed by a mix of fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages. According to news on the issue, the average loan size is $978,000 and the average FICO score is 775 – pretty similar
Rates are up today as inflation week rolls on. This morning’s reading of January producer prices shows a .8% increase since December and a 3.6% increase since January 2010. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the “core” readings showed a greater-than-expected .5% increase since December and a 1.6% increase since last year. The yearly
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