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Steve Heideman

Economy

HUD Raises Limits on Negative Balances for Real Estate Refinance through HARP

by Steve Heideman | July 7, 2009

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this past week extended the Home Affordable Refinance Program to borrowers who are up to 25 percent upside-down on mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The previous threshold was 105 percent, or owing 5 percent more than the value of the home.
To qualify for refinancing under [...]

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Economy

Obama’s Making Home Affordable Plan Update

by Steve Heideman | April 20, 2009

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Sean Donovan was on Bloomberg this morning discussing the state of housing and the Obama Making Home Affordable Plan. There are some signs that the program is starting to work.”I think we have a good balance of carrots and sticks” said Donovan when asked about banks and servicers working [...]

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Economy

Heads I Win, Tails you Lose: This Week’s Housing Data and Mortgage Markets

by Steve Heideman | April 13, 2009

Last week mortgage rates were exactly flat confirming my forecast that rates may not rise for the third week in a row. The week started off strong but ended with a whimper for 2 main reasons:

Wells Fargo’s announcement of record $ 3 Billion in earnings
Mike Mayo’s downgrade of the banking sector. Mike has a history [...]

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Economy

A Different Take on this Week’s Mortgage Market Data

by Steve Heideman | April 6, 2009

A little bit of a different take on this week’s mortgage market data. Gotta change it up sometimes ya know?

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Economy

Mortgage Rates May Be at Bottom

by Steve Heideman | March 30, 2009

From an economic standpoint, last week was an interesting one. The stock markets made strong gains last week but the mortgage markets barely moved in the wake of the Treasury’s “toxic asset” plan.
Amongst the other news from last week:

Existing home sales showed unexpected strength
New home sales showed unexpected strength
Data showed home prices [...]

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Economy

Latest Real Estate Market Data Showing a Whisper of a Bottom

by Steve Heideman | March 23, 2009

Existing home sales rose 5.1%  in Feburary to a stronger than expected pace of 4.72 million units.  This is the latest in a series of tiny whispers or as Larry Kudlow calls them “mustard seeds”  that we may indeed be in a bottoming process. The other signs include:

Homebuilders are breaking ground on new homes again
First-time jobless [...]

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Real Estate

Credit Score below 620? No Loan for You!

by Steve Heideman | March 9, 2009

Well, it’s official. The last lender I had who accepted a credit score below 620 just raised their minimum credit score requirement to—you guessed it—620. While this may not be the absolute last bank in the nation to do this, it is only a matter of time before other banks and lending institutions follow suit.
The [...]

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Economy

Mortgage Interest Deduction in Jeopardy

by Steve Heideman | March 2, 2009

The  mortgage interest deduction, which has long been an untouchable pillar of the tax code for homeowners, is on the chopping block in President Obama’s 2010 budget proposal. The President wants to reform our healthcare system here in America and is proposing the mortgage interest deduction be capped at 28%. This would affect homeowners making [...]

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Economy

67% Say $8,000 Tax Credit is Likely to Incent them to Buy a Home

by Steve Heideman | February 24, 2009

Okay, so despite Josh and my best efforts, we only had 6 people answer our poll through twitter . Therefore, this is by no means a large sampling fit to discern the efficacy of the tax credit, but I liked the headline–Catchy isn’t it? Of those who voted, 4 said it would incent them and [...]

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Real Estate

Good News for Real Estate Investors Looking for Financing

by Steve Heideman | February 16, 2009

As of last Friday, there is good news for real estate investors with more than 4 financed properties. Fannie Mae is lifting their ban on financing investors with more than 4 financed properties raising the total number to 10.  According to Fannie Mae, the rationale for the change  is that experienced investors can “play a [...]

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Financing Real Estate

Should you Pre-Pay your Mortgage?

by Steve Heideman | February 9, 2009

To pre-pay or not to pre-pay that is the question!
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind…okay, I am not a huge Shakespeare guru, but I do fancy myself a mortgage finance guru.
Today I want to talk about whether it is a good idea to prepay your mortgage or not. I will be using some information from [...]

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Economy

Are we Moving Further and Further from those 4.5% Mortgage Rates we’ve Been Hearing About?

by Steve Heideman | February 2, 2009

Consumer confidence reached an all-time low and 100,000 Americans were issued layoff notices last week, each playing a role in the mortgage market’s relative worsening.
For the third consecutive week, mortgage rates rose and average loan fees increased, too.
Amid all of the negative economic news, however, there were two bright spots worth identifying and discussing. They [...]

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Economy

Mortgage Rates, Geithner, China and You

by Steve Heideman | January 27, 2009

Mortgage markets deteriorated last week on the heels of weak economic data and uninspiring corporate earnings.
Mortgage rates rose for the second week in a row. They’re now measurably higher than the low point set 3 weeks ago.
For mortgage rate shoppers, though, last week’s most important stories weren’t necessarily last week’s most reported stories; the [...]

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Economy

Outsized Economic Stimulus Packages can Cause Long Term Harm to Mortgage Rates

by Steve Heideman | January 20, 2009

After a strong start Monday and Tuesday, mortgage markets suffered alongside stock markets in the latter half of last week, leaving mortgage rates higher on the week overall.  Market losses were especially steep Friday and mortgage rates headed into the long weekend on a strong uptick.  Regardless, the reasons that mortgage rates rose last week [...]

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Economy

How are Mortgage Markets Responding to the Largest Job Loss since 1945?

by Steve Heideman | January 12, 2009

In 2009’s first full week of trading, mortgage bond markets traded back-and-forth, eventually closing the week improved overall.
Weekly mortgage rates fell for the first time since mid-December.

The most anticipated news of last week was Friday’s jobs report. According to government’s press release, the economy shed another 524,000 jobs in December, raising 2008’s total job losses [...]

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