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In November, Congress extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program to include a subset of "move-up" buyers -- homeowners that have owned and lived in their home for 5 of the last 8 years. The credit ranges up to $8,000 per buyer. There's now just 7 weeks left to take advantage. To be eligible, home buyers must be under contract for a new home no later than April 30, 2010, and must be closed no later than June 30, 2010. In addition to meeting the deadline dates, there's a basic set of requirements to be tax credit-eligible: You can't purchase the home from a parent, ...

Mortgage markets improved last week in low-volume trading. Between Monday to Thursday, Wall Street focused on the upcoming jobs reports and mortgage markets gained while traders jockeyed for position. Mortgage rates drifted lower through Thursday afternoon. But, then, after a better-than-expected Non-Farm Payrolls report Friday morning, mortgage markets -- and mortgage rates -- reversed. Overall, mortgage rates dropped last week, but only by a small margin. Rates were best Thursday afternoon. It was the second consecutive week in which mortgage rates fell. Last week was also interesting in ...

Fewer homes went under contract in January as the housing market continues to limp through the winter months. According to the National Association of Realtors®, the Pending Home Sales Index fell to its lowest level in 3 quarters this January. By contrast, in October 2009, the index had touched a 3-year high. The Pending Home Sales Index measures the number of homes that have gone under contract to sell, but have yet to close nationwide. It's compiled using data from more than 100 regional listing services and 60-plus brokerages  -- the sample set encompasses 20 percent of all home ...

Conforming and FHA mortgage rates in Illinois have improved over the last 10 days, but that could all change this Friday with the release of February's Non-Farm Payrolls report. Non-Farm Payrolls is the official name of the government's monthly jobs report and, given the fragile state of the U.S. economy, Wall Street will be watching it closely. Mortgage rates could spike come Friday morning. Jobs are an important part of the nation's recovery. Among other concerns, unemployed Americans don't spend as much money on goods and services, and are more likely to default on a mortgage. This retards ...

The winter months have not been kind to home sales. After plunging 17 percent in December, Existing Home Sales fell by an additional 7 percent in January, according to the National Association of Realtors®. An "existing home" is a home resold by a previous owner (i.e. not new construction). In looking at the annualized, adjusted Existing Home Sales data, we find: Sales volume is at its lowest levels since June 2009 Sales volume fell below its 12-month rolling average Home supplies are at a 5-month high These are similar findings to the New Home Sales data issued by the government last ...

Mortgage markets improved last week as economic reports painted a less-than-stellar portrait of the U.S. economy and concerns of a looming monetary policy change eased. Mortgage pricing improved dramatically, despite a late-Friday retreat. Mortgage rates are now at their lowest levels since early-February. Last week was heavy on negative data: Consumer Confidence posted 16% short of expectations New Home Sales posted 13% short of expectations Initial Jobless Claims were higher than expected In addition, both the Case-Shiller and Home Price Indices showed a slight pullback in the housing ...

You can't get your mortgage rates from the newspaper. Last week proved it.  Again. Friday morning, headlines and around the country read that mortgage rates were down 0.04 percent, on average, since the week prior. A sampling of said headlines includes: US Mortgage Rates Drop For 2nd Straight Week (Reuters) Mortgage Rates On 30-year US Loans Fall To 4.93% (Business Week) 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Falls Farther Below 5% (Marketwatch) The story behind the headline was sourced from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, am industry-wide mortgage rate poll of more ...