All entries by this author

Mortgage rates end the year above 5 percent

Jan 5th, 2010 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Financial News

McLEAN, Va. Jan. 4, 2009 Mortgage rates rose for the fourth straight week, ending the year above 5 percent.
The average fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage was 5.14 percent last week, up from 5.05 percent one week earlier, Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Mortgage rates are closely tied to yields on long-term government debt. The [...]



Home demand will be strong as buyers seek tax credits

Jan 5th, 2010 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News

WASHINGTON Jan. 4, 2010 So you want to sell a home in 2010? Think January, not June.
Not only are prices expected to keep falling, cutting into sellers profits the longer they wait, but demand will be strong early in the year from first-time and move-up buyers looking to qualify for tax credits that [...]



Banks start to embrace short sales

Dec 22nd, 2009 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Financial News

WASHINGTON Dec. 22, 2009 Even before the government put pressure on them to embrace short sales, more banks were starting to take their lumps, do the short-sale deals and move on.
Three years into the housing meltdown, short sales have tripled to 40,000 in the first six months of 2009 compared to the same [...]



Sales of Existing Homes Increase More Than Forecast

Dec 22nd, 2009 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News

By Gregory Arzumanov
.
Sales of existing U.S. homes rose more than forecast in November, to the highest level since February 2007, a sign housing is gaining strength along with the broader economy entering 2010. Purchases increased 7.4 percent to a 6.54 million annual rate from a revised 6.09 million pace the prior month, the National Association [...]



Foreclosure filings fall 8% in November

Dec 14th, 2009 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News

WASHINGTON (AP) Dec. 10, 2009 The number of homeowners on the brink of foreclosure fell in November, the fourth straight monthly decline, as mortgage companies evaluated whether borrowers were eligible for help.
Nearly 307,000 households, or one in every 417 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice in November, down 8 percent from a month earlier, [...]



Tax credit extension passes House and Senate

Nov 5th, 2009 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News

WASHINGTON Nov. 5, 2009 The $8,000, first-time homebuyer tax credit has not yet been extended beyond its Nov. 30 end date, but its very close to gaining a longer life.
The extension was added as an amendment to an existing bill, HR 3548, that extends unemployment benefits. The U.S. Senate passed that bill [...]



Pending home sales rise again

Nov 2nd, 2009 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News

WASHINGTION Nov. 2, 2009 Pending home sales rose again, marking eight consecutive monthly gains the longest streak since measurement began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in September, rose 6.1 percent to 110.1 from a reading of [...]



Obama announces plan to boost small businesses

Oct 27th, 2009 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Financial News

WASHINGTON Oct. 23, 2009 President Barack Obama announced new small-business lending initiatives Wednesday that aim to expand loan amounts and make more capital available to small banks.
Small businesses fuel the economy and have been hardest hit by the recession, losing 2.4 million jobs from the middle of 2007 to the end of 2008, [...]



Florida’s existing home, condo sales up in September 2009

Oct 27th, 2009 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: South Region

ORLANDO, Fla. Oct. 23, 2009 Floridas existing home sales rose in September, which marks more than a year (13 months) that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors. Septembers statewide sales also increased over sales activity in August in both the existing [...]



Florida home insurance rates on rise again

Oct 5th, 2009 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, South Region

The respite from rapidly rising insurance rates is ending for Florida homeowners.
State regulators approved an average 19 percent statewide increase for Federated National Insurance. The insurer, a subsidiary of 21st Century Holdings in Lauderdale Lakes, has 30,889 policies in Florida.
Northern Capital Group was approved for a 10 percent hike on the policies it has taken [...]