There is a very interesting cultural change taking place throughout the country. And it is the direct result of the current challenges in the housing sector. It seems that there is a wave of support for the concept of walking away from your financial obligations in regard to your mortgage. The stigma attached to those […]
First, let’s look at today’s announcements by the Fed…. As expected, they held the Fed Funds Rate constant (more on what that means later). They re-affirmed their prior pledge to stop purchasing Mortgage Backed Securities by March 31. They said that they expect rates to stay in this range for an extended time. As was […]
There are hundreds of news articles and blog posts each day pontificating on the current housing market. Many of these stories try to examine pricing to help determine whether home values are appreciating or depreciating. The authors want to try their best to call the ‘bottom’ of the market based on the data available. However, there […]
The Fed is scheduled to exit the housing market this spring. The Home Buyer Tax Credit ends on April 30, 2010 (the date the house must be in contract). The Fed has already announced that their program purchasing mortgage-backed securities will expire on March 31, 2010. Most anticipate a quick and dramatic rise in interest […]
Today let’s look at negative equity and attempt to determine what impact it will have on a housing recovery in 2010. Negative equity, often referred to as “underwater” or “upside down,” means that borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. Negative equity can occur because of a decline in value, an […]
Today, after weeks of speculation, the FHA announced their plan to secure the solvency of the Insurance Fund. And it is NOT good news for Homebuyers, and therefore, NOT good news for sellers either. I’ll discuss the particulars in a minute; but first, let’s look at how this is the THIRD nail in the coffin […]
Hello KCM Community, Steve Harney had scheduled to post on the impact of walking away from mortgages today, but with the release of the new FHA guidelines we called an audible and brought in our guest blogger, Dean Hartman, for a special report. If you were anticipating Steve’s post for today, we apologize. But we […]
The current economy has devastated the finances of so many families in every income bracket and in almost every neighborhood in this country. More and more people are falling further and further behind in their mortgage payments. In the past people would take a second job or borrow money from family to catch up. Today, […]
When the housing market was going strong between 2004 and 2006, many buyers were purchasing houses they were not able to afford with conventional financing. That created a need for less conventional mortgage products known as option ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages). These mortgages allowed a buyer to either pay less of an interest rate during the […]
Going into 2010 things were looking rather ‘bullish’ for the housing industry. Sales were up and prices seemed to be stabilizing. But in the last few weeks we are starting to see how fragile the recovery actually is. Obviously, when the government ends its support after the first quarter (no longer holding down interest rates […]
The Inman News Conference gathers together top real estate professionals from across the country, and combines them with some of the top technology minds of today. The conference is a few days long and immerses agents and brokers in what the real estate market and industry will look like in the future. Towards the end of […]
Yesterday, I posted on the fact that my son is in the process of buying a home. I gave my reasons for agreeing with his decision. However, some have questioned whether purchasing real estate at this time makes sense. Let me give more support to the point that this is the best time to buy […]
My son received word today that the sellers of the house he loved accepted his purchase offer. Our whole family is very excited. Not just because he is taking the first step toward home ownership, but instead, because he is purchasing a home at the best time to buy residential property in American real estate […]
There is no doubt that prices in the lower end of the market have fallen rather dramatically over the last several years. Much of this loss in equity occurred as people were unable to pay their mortgages, and the homes went to foreclosure. Many were quick to dismiss this dilemma as the result of questionable […]
Here at KCM we are building a home for real estate information™. Some of the time we are the ones publishing this information, and other times we like to share with you important articles written outside the KCM Community. Below is a list of articles from the past week that we feel our community members should […]
The KCM blog reaches thousands of people every week, but our online presence only makes up one small part of our KCM Community. Steve Harney, speaker and lead KCM author, has been sharing our message across the country for months now, and we would like to thank him for being such a large part in […]
Operating in the current real estate market is no easy task. Whether you are selling a house, buying one, or doing both, it requires the skill of a surgeon to carefully slice through the layers of information available in order to get to the core issues. At the same time, you must have the insight […]
This article is brought to you by guest blogger and mortgage planning specialist, Dean Hartman. Feel free to leave Dean any questions or comments below. More and more, consumers are learning that there is much more to getting a mortgage than just the interest rate and points. A good mortgage planner is more in the […]
Coming into 2010, there are many people trying to decipher all the data that is being reported regarding the housing industry. The main goal is to try and bring clarity to a market that has been clouded with confusion for the last two years. We must prevent ourselves from looking for a simple solution that will justify […]
News Update: Mortgage Rates have increased from 4.71 to 5.14 in 4 weeks. As Steve Harney has said, the cost of a home has two major components: the price and the expense of the financing. Unless you are paying cash for the house, the mortgage interest rate is a key determining factor in what the home will […]
Happy New Year, KCM Community! Thank you for all your continued support. Let’s make 2010 a year to remember… together! -The KCM Crew
“Fear always springs from ignorance.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson Unlike last year, we are better prepared for the challenges ahead of us. Knowing how the market is moving will help us in the decisions we make. Here are a few things to consider when making your move into the New Year: Mortgaging Interest Rates – Rates remained […]
The last week of December is always an interesting time. As we plan for the next year, we like to look back on all the important stories and events of the last year. We will gather around the television or paper and endlessly quiz each other on the multitude of Top 10 Lists that inevitably appear. Here […]
Yesterday, we reported on the differences between two major housing reports that were released last week. Today, I want to comment on something both reports had in common but has been vastly under-reported: the sudden increase in sales of luxury homes. The past several months have shown a tremendous uptick in buyer activity. And, though […]
This past week there were two different housing reports released. The first was the National Association of Realtors’ ‘Existing-Home Sales Report’ and the other was the U.S. Census Bureau’s ‘New Construction Report’. The most confusing part of the news is how divergent the data on the reports was. The Existing-Home Sales Report showed a month-over-month […]
