As this week's signal that homebuyers are returning to the market, both Existing Home Sales and New Homes Sales posted improvement versus month-prior figures this April. According to the National Association of REALTORS, the number of Existing Home Sales rose by 130,000 units in April. New Home Sales rose by a modest 1,000 units in April. As a twist in the story, however, although sales activity is rising, the available housing inventory is rising faster.  Versus March 2009, there were 300,000 more homes for sale in April -- an increase of 9 percent.  In addition, the "housing ...

Conforming mortgage rates rose by 0.625 percent Wednesday.  Yes, you read it right.  Zero-point-six-two-five percent.The surprise surge in pricing started shortly after 1:00 P.M. ET, then continued all the way until the market's closing.  It was the sharpest one-day surge in mortgage rates in recent history. Perhaps ever. For mortgage rate shoppers swept up in the surge, monthly payments are now higher by $29 per $100,000 borrowed. That's a significant shift. For as rare as Wednesday's events were, though, middle-of-the-day, 0.625 percent rate changes don't just happen.  ...

 Each month, researchers measure home values in 20 large U.S. cities, then compile their findings in a report called the Case-Shiller Index.  It's a popular measurement of housing health across the country, but it's far from perfect.  As 3 examples: It gives more weight to expensive homes than inexpensive ones Its sample set includes just 37 states of 50 states Real estate isn't a "national" market -- it's local All that said, however, the data is still important.  The Case-Shiller Index helps identify broader trends in housing and it's widely believed that the ...

Mortgage markets reacted poorly to not-as-strong-as-expected housing data and employment data last week causing mortgage rates to rise on the week overall.It was the third time in 4 weeks that mortgage rates were up. To the detriment of rate shoppers, mortgage rates were especially volatile Thursday and Friday.  As an increasing number of traders punched out ahead of the 3-day weekend, the mortgage pricing swings grew wider and wider.  Rates were at their lowest last week on Wednesday morning.  By Friday, some mortgage rates were higher by as much as 3/8 percent. This week, ...

Homeowners may have a new chance for foreclosure assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development under legislation President Obama signed into law last week. The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act eases program requirements for families seeking mortgage help under the Hope for Homeowners program and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act authorizes new funds to combat mortgage fraud.The new laws come as foreclosure rates remain at historic highs across the country. According to the most recent U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac, April 2009 had the highest ...

Rates go up, rates go down.  Catch them while you can. After Wednesday's mortgage market rally drove rates down by a bunch, Thursday's sell-off pushed them right back up. This has been a common pattern in the skittish world of mortgage rates this year. With the U.S. economy still teetering between recession and growth, markets are looking for signals anywhere it can find them.  Thursday's clue came from a government report showing that more Americans are collecting unemployment benefits than at any point in history. Strangely, mortgage rates rose on the news. We call it ...

Mortgage rates fell after the Federal Reserve released its April 28-29, 2009 meeting's internal notes Wednesday.Officially known as "Fed Minutes", the report is an in-depth account Federal Reserve's last get-together, detailing the discussions and decisions that create our country's monetary policy.  It's the lengthy companion to the Federal Reserve's brief, post-meeting press release. For comparison's sake, the Federal Reserve's April 29 announcement contained 383 words.  The minutes of that same meeting held 5,754 words.  The extra words offer extra details about what the next ...

A "housing start" is a new home on which construction has started and, for the fourth straight month, single-family home construction remained flat in April.For the battered housing market, this is the latest in a series of signals that a long-awaited turnaround is coming. The number of homes under contract to sell are rising The national housing inventory is down by nearly 1 million from March 2009 Home values are rising, according to a government report The current plateau in Housing Starts may indicate that builders are more confident in the economy, and that Americans are, ...