Florida mortgage borrowers received some great news regarding the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit extension. Congressional members not only voted to extend, but they also expanded the credit, and the White House is expected to sign in the extension into law later today.
The expiration date for the new version of the First-time home buyer tax credit has been moved forward to the spring of 2010 – with home buyers in Florida and across the country required to be under contract by April 3... Read Full Story
As anticipated, Florida mortgage borrowers should get ready for a rate increase per the November 4 FOMC press release.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
The general sentiment from the meeting was that the U.S. economy “has continued to pick up” since the September FOMC meeting and that housing market activity has increased.
It’s the third shot of optimism we’ve received from these post F... Read Full Story
Florida mortgage borrowers should consider locking in a mortgage rate today by 2:15 PM (ET), as mortgage rates may increase per a FOMC press release scheduled for this afternoon.
As we know, the meeting minutes from each Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting tend to shake things up. We saw this with last September’s notes – based on the following points:
Financial markets have improved
Housing activity has increased
Economic activity has “picked up”
Per analy... Read Full Story
Florida mortgage borrowers looking to purchase new homes may want to take note – the recent pending home sales numbers point to higher overall home prices.
Released by the National Association of Realtors®, the Pending Home Sales Index posted its 8th consecutive monthly gain in September. The results from this report mark the longest overall upswing in the history of the index – with Pending Home Sales now at their highest levels since December 2006.
As its name suggests, a Pendi... Read Full Story
Florida mortgage markets improved last week after a set of widely volatile trading sessions. On the whole, home loan rates in Florida dropped about 1/8 percent – marking the first time in 5 weeks mortgage rates fell.
The volatility we saw last week is nothing new, as it’s been an ongoing trend through most of 2009. When asked why such volatility takes place, I explain to my Florida mortgage clients that we see markets shift up and down to dramatic effect any time analysts fail t... Read Full Story
Orlando mortgage borrowers looking to purchase new homes may soon see that theirs is not the only offer on the table for sellers to review.
Florida home sales through September 2009, according to the Florida Association of Realtors®, and the national housing supply fell to a 2-year low last month, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing home sales rose 34 percent last month with a total of 14,419 homes sold statewide compared to 10,778 homes sold in September 2008, accor... Read Full Story
Through this past week, Florida mortgage rates continued to stay a little bit above the record lows we’ve seen over months past. This is in part due to the fact that Wall Street has been happy with 3rd quarter earnings so far this season.
Many US companies are beating analysts’ expectations. However, it’s important to realize that the bulk of companies achieving better earnings are doing so by cutting costs and laying off employees – not by increasing sales.
As u... Read Full Story
So, I just got my Florida Mortgage Broker Facebook fan page up and running a couple of days ago. I’ve managed to incorporate a few key blogs via the great Networked Blogs service, and I love the great and useful info that’s been pouring in. We’re at 22 fans so far, and we hope to add more as we move along.
I started the Florida Mortgage Blogger site as a means to provide useful and easy to understand information about Florida home loans, refinancing options, various gover... Read Full Story
The weather may be getting cooler here in Florida, but the mortgage bond market and Florida mortgage rates are feeling the heat and pressure on several fronts. I’ve provided you with some details below, and I hope they provide some clarity as to why it’s important to act soon to take advantage of current Florida mortgage rates - as we may be seeing the beginning of a sustained increase.
Glenn Frey tells it like it is in this “Heat is On” video.
Fear of Inflation ... Read Full Story
Florida Mortgage rates are on the rise after the Federal Reserve released the internal notes of its September 22-23, 2009 meeting.
Referred to as the ”Fed Minutes”, the report provides a massive level of detail and insight into how the Fed may move next, and as such, is a favorite among Wall Street analysts.
Here’s a very brief breakdown of how the FOMC Press Release and the Official “Fed Minutes” pan out in terms of length:
Press Release: 383 words
Minutes: 693... Read Full Story
