Super Bowl Weekend traditionally marks the start of the Spring Buying Season in real estate.  Anecdotally, real estate agents will tell you that buyer activity tends to tick higher at this time of the year. Meanwhile, with mortgage rates still trolling near all-time lows and Congress debating a first-time homebuyer tax credit, 2009 may bring out even more buyers than we've seen in the past. Just having your home on the market may not be enough to attract an offer, though -- the home has to have appeal.  That brings us to home staging -- the process by which a homeowner ...

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged today.  It remains within a target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. In its press release, the FOMC reiterated most of the key points from its December 2008 statement, including: The U.S. employment outlook continues to deteriorate Consumers and businesses continue to cut spending The housing sector is still showing weakness In addition, the FOMC addressed the "extremely tight" credit conditions for U.S. households and business, even as it said some financial markets are showing signs of ...

The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its 2-day meeting today. The monetary policy-setting group is expected leave the Fed Funds Rate within its current target range of 0.00-0.250 percent. This is the lowest range for the Fed Funds Rate in history and, frankly, there isn't much room left to go lower.  Therefore, markets aren't really concerned about what happens to the benchmark lending rate today. Instead, markets will focus on the Fed's ideas to revive the U.S. economy. In its post-FOMC press release last month, the Federal Reserve pledged to "employ all available ...

Don't let the plunging median sales price fool you -- December's Existing Home Sales data has home sellers smiling. Just one month after falling below the 5-million unit trend line, sales volume roared back by 300,000 homes in December, surprising housing analysts and making a case that this spring's Buying Season could be a competitive one. Falling home prices helped fuel home sales.  Nationally, the median sales price -- the point at which half of all homes sold for more and half sold for less -- was $175,400, down $32,000 from last year. However, the most important part of ...

Mortgage markets deteriorated last week on the heels of weak economic data and uninspiring corporate earnings.Mortgage rates rose for the second week in a row.  They're now measurably higher than the low point set 3 weeks ago. For mortgage rate shoppers, though, last week's most important stories weren't necessarily last week's most reported stories; the most obvious of which was soon-to-be Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's assertion that China may be manipulating its currency. This assertion poses risks to mortgage rates because China is one of the largest buyers of U.S. ...

When a homeowner sells his home and decides to buy a new one, there are 3 basic options for the residence -- sell it, keep it, or rent it.Unfortunately, no matter which path they choose, move-up homebuyers in need of a new conforming mortgage will find qualifying for a home loan to be more difficult this season than in the past.  Mortgage guidelines are dramatically tighter for people "carrying two mortgages". Among the changes this spring's buyers face: Selling the primary residence If you plan to close on your new home prior to the closing of your existing home -- even if it's ...

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is a popular measure of domestic home prices, released monthly.  The index reports on the largest 20 U.S. markets, painting a broad picture of real estate values nationwide. Despite the Case-Shiller Index's two obvious flaws -- (1) it only counts repeat sales on single-family residences, and (2) it only includes 20 major housing markets -- the model is helpful in identifying broader real estate trends in our nation's largest cities. But data is just data.  Sometimes, it takes a good picture to bring it all home.  Enter The New York ...

After a strong start Monday and Tuesday, mortgage markets suffered alongside stock markets in the latter half of last week, leaving mortgage rates higher on the week overall.Market losses were especially steep Friday and mortgage rates headed into the long weekend on a strong uptick. Regardless, the reasons that mortgage rates rose last week are ancient history, in most respects.  Today, the new presidential administration begins and economic expectations reset.  Mortgage bond traders are now looking at Capitol Hill and wondering what the pending stimulus package will look like, and ...