Category Archives: mortgage

Foreclosure Update – Florida on the Rebound?

Posted on April 27, 2011 by gatearty

Online foreclosure resource, Realty Trac, has reported that the number of foreclosure filings is down a whopping 27% in the first quarter on 2011 when compared to 2010. The decrease in foreclosure was across the board and occurred in all … Continue reading →

Posted in bank, finance, florida, foreclosure, mortgage | Leave a comment

Taking a Dip

Posted on March 22, 2011 by gatearty

The “winning streak” had to come to an end at some point I suppose. Sales of existing homes fell in February after three straight monthly increases.  According to the National Association of Realtors, homes sold at an annual rate of … Continue reading →

Posted in finance, investing, mortgage, National Association of Realtors, real estate investing, real estate sales | Leave a comment

Cash is King

Posted on March 10, 2011 by gatearty

A slew of new rules, regulations and policies have changed the mortgage landscape, thus making buying a new home a bit more difficult & more “expensive.” A few short years ago, first-time buyers accounted for 40% of home sales. Today, that … Continue reading →

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Underwater Homes

Posted on March 9, 2011 by gatearty

“Falling home prices at the turn of the year pushed more borrowers into a negative equity position, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.  In Q4, 23% of borrowers nationwide, or 11.1 million, were holding … Continue reading →

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Rates Go Down, Mortgages Go Up

Posted on February 24, 2011 by gatearty

Mortgage applications increased 13.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 18, 2011. The Refinance Index increased 17.8 percent from the previous week. Ongoing turmoil in … Continue reading →

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A Farewell to ARMs?

Posted on February 15, 2011 by gatearty

Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) used to be all the rage. They represented a whopping 70% of all mortgages issued during the real estate boom! Adjustable rate mortgages vanished during the real estate downturn, however, totaling a mere 3% of the market in 2009. Fast forward to present … Continue reading →

Posted in bank, finance, freddie mac, investing, mortgage, real estate sales | Leave a comment

Say Goodbye To Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac?

Posted on February 14, 2011 by gatearty

According to a Whitehouse aid, the Obama administration will issue a White Paper later this week recommending the gradual elimination of government-sponsored mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  It will include three different options for reducing the role government … Continue reading →

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Who HAMP Helps

Posted on February 2, 2011 by gatearty

The United States Treasury Department announced that more than a half million people have received assistance by way of permanent mortgage modifications utilizing the Home Affordable Modification Program, also referred to as HAMP. Some of you may be curious of … Continue reading →

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What’s With All the “NEW” Sales?

Posted on January 27, 2011 by gatearty

So you hear a lot of bad news about real estate so it’s a good thing you have me around to give you some positive stats from time to time. According to the Commerce Department, month-to-month new home sales surged … Continue reading →

Posted in mortgage, new home construction, real estate sales | Leave a comment

What’s Lurking in the Shadows?

Posted on January 25, 2011 by gatearty

There is a healthy amount of real estate inventory currently on the market right now, but you may have heard media outlets refer to a “shadow inventory” that is still looming. What is shadow inventory? It represents the properties whose … Continue reading →

Posted in bank, finance, foreclosure, loan modification, mortgage | 1 Comment