Sales of existing homes rose in April, buoyed by an expiring home buyer tax credit and exceptionally low mortgage rates. As compared to March, April's Existing Home Sales rose by 410,000 units nationwide - the second straight month of large gains. An "existing home" is a home resold by a prior ow
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05/25/2010
Another week, same old story. Mortgage markets improved again last week on worsening news out of Greece and the Eurozone. Then, as contagion mentality set in, U.S. mortgage bonds gained and mortgage rates fell. It's the 4th straight week in which conforming mortgage rates in Minnesota improved a
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05/25/2010
With home prices still relatively low and mortgage rates trolling near their all-time best levels, it's no surprise that home affordability is extraordinarily high in Minneapolis and most U.S. markets. According to the quarterly Home Opportunity Index as published by the National Association of
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05/21/2010
After starting the day in the red, mortgage rates rebounded Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve released its April 27-28, 2010 meeting minutes. It's good news for home buyers and would-be refinancers in Plymouth. Mortgage rates continue to troll along multi-year lows. "Fed Minutes" are
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05/21/2010
Single-family Housing Starts rose by 55,000 last month, suggesting ample housing stock from which Minneapolis can choose this summer. The report is a slightly larger read than what economists had expected. Furthermore, for the first time since June 2009, Housing Starts appears to have broken awa
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05/21/2010
As lenders tighten mortgage guidelines for Plymouth home buyers, minimum downpayment requirements are increasing. Several years ago, you could finance a home with nothing down. Today, most conventional mortgages require at least 10 percent. Anecdotally, guideline changes have led to an increase i
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05/21/2010
Mortgage markets improved last week - but barely - as ongoing doubt surrounding the health of Greece and the Euro pushed additional investors into safe assets, including mortgage bonds. Mortgage rates were wildly volatile between Monday and Friday before closing the week slightly better than the
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05/21/2010
A mortgage approval is never final until it's funded. A host of things can "go wrong" while your home loan is underway. Some are in your control, many more are not. And just being aware of some potential pitfalls could help save your loan down the road, and your peace of mind today. MSN Money ra
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05/21/2010
The national foreclosure rate is finally falling. According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac.com, the number of foreclosure notices dropped 2 percent between April 2009 and April 2010. 2 percent may not seem like much, but it's the first time in the history of the RealtyTrac report that t
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05/21/2010
Relocate America recently released its 2010 list of Top 100 Places To Live In America. The rankings are topped by some cities you may expect, and some you may not. According to Relocate America, the rankings highlight communities "moving in the right direction", defined as having a combination of
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05/21/2010
