Real Estate Insight for the Carolina Lake and Mountain Region

Archive for August, 2009

Fix Housing First!

Monday, August 24th, 2009 Posted in Real Estate Commentary | No Comments »

At the end of 2008, I read a letter to the editor in Time Magazine from a person in CA with a very simple solution to the housing crisis.  As we all know the housing meltdown has had devastating effects ...

Mortgage Underwriting Guidelines Easing?

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 Posted in Mortgage News, Real Estate News | No Comments »

It looks like banks are not as scared of mortgage loans these days.In its quarterly survey, the Fed asked senior bank loan officers whether "prime" residential mortgage guidelines had tightened in the last 3 months. Only 1/5th reported guidelines tightened last quarter, ...

Stress takes a hike

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 Posted in Lake and Mountain Monthly, Real Estate Commentary | No Comments »

I think it's time to hit the trail.  I have had my fill of the bad economy, the roller-coaster ride of my stock portfolio, and the general gloom-and-doom of the past eighteen months.  Here is my sure fire solution to ...

Arizona, California and Florida Continue To Lead In Foreclosures

Friday, August 14th, 2009 Posted in Real Estate Commentary | No Comments »

Foreclosure-tracker RealtyTrac reports the number of foreclosures nationwide rose 7 % on a month-to-month basis last month. 3 states dominated the foreclosure list, with more foreclosures between them than the rest of the entire country. California : 30.0% Florida : 15.7% Arizona : 5.4% On a per-household basis, ...

Pending Home Sales Up Again

Friday, August 7th, 2009 Posted in Real Estate News | No Comments »

For the 5th straight month the number of homes under contract to sell rose in June. It's the Pending Home Sales Index's longest winning streak since 2003 and another piece of evidence that the housing market may be rebounding. The supply of new ...

Strong Economic Data Pushes Mortgage Rates Higher

Friday, August 7th, 2009 Posted in Real Estate News | No Comments »

Strong Economic Data Pushes Mortgage Rates Higher  With just minor exceptions, all of the economic data released this week beat the consensus forecast, indicating that the economy is improving more quickly than expected. While current inflation levels remain low, faster economic ...