Low mortgage rates and large down payments are how buyers today are able to afford these lofty prices. Wondering where the big money comes from? Some of it could be from cash-out refinances: The article has a couple of other zingers too - excerpts: In recent years,...
More evidence of how are sales and pricing have been flat this year, in spite of lower rates: NSDCC 3rd Quarter Sales Year # of 3Q Sales Median SP Median DOM 2013 884 $975,000 24 2014 753 $1,050,000 27 2015 850 $1,025,000 23 2016 822 $1,175,000 22 2017 798 $1,250,000...
Did you know that mortgages sold to FHA, VA, Fannie and Freddie are allowed to exceed to the traditional 43% DTI (debt-to-income) ratio? The rule that allows it is known as the QM Patch, which expires in 2021. But bankers are fighting to keep the exemption from the...
Because the FHA reverse mortgages (HECM) have loan limits, are expensive, and got harder to obtain, the private reverse-mortgage market is growing. These can be used to buy a home too, and have no payments! Maybe the realtor disrupters will get into the...
Hat tip to Matthew for a great piece on mortgage rates: Mortgage rates have risen rather abruptly from their long term lows 2 weeks ago and are now at the highest levels in more than a month. Fortunately, the average lender is still easily able to quote rates in the...
Did you hear that rates bumped up 1/4% in the last week? It doesn't take much! Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae chief economist, discusses if the rise in mortgage rates could help the housing market (causing those buyers on the margin to jump in quickly):...
Aisling Swindell was paying so much for rent last year—$2,100 per month to live in a studio in Downtown LA—she figured she might as well buy a place. “The house I ended up buying was $440,000, which is insane, right?” says Swindell, who works for an online fashion...
Now we're talking! Thanks Richard. A bank in Denmark is offering borrowers mortgages at a negative interest rate, effectively paying its customers to borrow money for a house purchase. Jyske Bank, Denmark's third-largest bank, said this week that customers would now...
Maybe having a mortgage is going out of fashion now that the affluent have taken over real estate? Or do we just need to Get Good Help with filing taxes? (30%-40% of Americans prepare their own taxes) The mortgage-interest deduction, a beloved tax break bound tightly...
The history of housing discrimination is getting a lot of attention these days, and rightfully so. If you, or someone you know, wants to contribute, KPBS is looking for stories: KPBS is doing an investigation into the legacy of "redlining" in San Diego. This is the...
