Existing Home Sales rose in March, as expected. U.S. home buyers closed on 7 percent more homes as compared to February. Furthermore, versus March 2009 - a month many people equate to the low point of the U.S. economy - sales volume was up 16 percent. "Existing home sale" is the technical term fo
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04/30/2010
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy More than 60 percent of U.S. homes are "over-assessed", says an industry trade group. Homeowners in Maple Grove pay more in property taxes than they otherwise should have to. You might be one of them. Have you considered f
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04/30/2010
Mortgage rates and home affordability have improved lately, thanks to an unlikely ally - Mother Nature. In the 7 days since Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull erupted, ash clouds have grounded planes, disrupted businesses, and stranded exports in warehouses worldwide. It's a drag on commerce that's spill
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04/30/2010
After a strong March showing and a surprise upward-revision for February, Housing Starts are, once again, trending better. It's yet another signal that the housing market in Minneapolis and nationwide is stabilized. A Housing Start is a new home on which construction has started and, over the las
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04/30/2010
Mortgage markets improved last week for the second week in a row. And, also for the second week in a row, rates were down on "safe haven" buying - just not for the same safe haven reasons as before. If you'll remember, safe haven buying is when investors sense market risk, then move money toward
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04/19/2010
Each week, government-led Freddie Mac publishes a weekly mortgage rate survey based on data from 125 banks across the country. According to this week's results, the relative rate of a 5-year ARM in Minnesota is extremely low versus its 30-year fixed-rate cousin. Consider this comparison: In Apr
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04/19/2010
Foreclosure filings rose close to 20 percent nationwide last month versus February, according to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac.com, and for the 13th straight month, total filings topped 300,000. In addition, bank repossessions reached an all-time, quarterly record. Through the first three
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04/19/2010
The federal home buyer tax credit expires April 30 and the deadline is sparking a home sale surge. It figures to burden real estate, mortgage and title offices nationwide over the next 60 days so plan your closing date accordingly. Especially because the last Friday in May is the Friday before Me
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04/19/2010
Not all home improvements are created equal. Especially if you're looking for "resale value" back from your work. An article from the Wall Street Journal lays it out cleanly. Function beats flash these days so be wary of where you spend. Environmental upgrades such as home insulation and energy-e
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04/19/2010
Mortgage markets improved last week to the delight of Minneapolis rate shoppers. Against a sparse economic calendar, Wall Street turned its attention to geopolitics in Greece and the Eurozone. It didn't like what it saw. Safe haven buying buoyed mortgage bond markets last week as pricing recaptur
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04/19/2010
