When HSH.com released the latest Two-month forecast for mortgage rates back on April 20, we warned that “troubles overseas have flared again and will bear watching.” Well, those troubles have indeed reignited and homebuyers and refinancers will benefit because of it.

Rates on the most popular types of mortgages retreated to new record lows, According to HSH.com’s Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar, mortgage rates retreated to new record lows once again this week.

Read the rest of this entry »

In recent years, many housing experts have pointed the finger at foreclosures for driving down prices and the housing market overall.

But in an unusual twist, foreclosure prices are now rising in some markets while the price of non-distressed real estate falls.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mortgage rates moved a little further into record territory last week. Unless a spate of solid economic news should show, there’s little reason to expect any strong reversal of the trend of small declines which has run for seven weeks now. However, as the data hasn’t been exactly bleak, even a handful of decent reports would be sufficient to reverse the trend.

For now, we should just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Read the rest of this entry »

The president spoke with voters in Reno, Nevada today to not only publicize recent refinance figures, but also to make a campaign push, urging lawmakers to pass additional refinance legislation.

According to the White House, since the details of HARP 2.0 were announced last fall, refinance applications have increased 50 percent. “Much of this increase is driven by a spike in HARP participation,” said the White House in a release. “Roughly one in three borrowers applying for refinancing today is applying for a loan through HARP, up from less than one in ten a year ago.” Read the rest of this entry »

While much of the new home market has been in retreat in recent years, there is one aspect which has grown significantly. According to a new report from McGraw Hill, green construction nearly tripled between 2005 and 2011.

The “SmartMarket Report: New and Remodeled Green Homes: Transforming the Residential Market” shows that green construction expanded from $6 billion in 2005 to $17 billion in 2011. This is not only a dramatic increase in terms of dollars, but it’s particularly significant in terms of overall market penetration. In 2006, green construction represented just 2 percent of new residential building. By 2011, green construction accounted for 17 percent of the market.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rates on the most popular types of mortgages held near record lows, according to HSH.com’s Weekly Mortgage Rates Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was unchanged, remaining at 3.97 percent. Conforming 5/1 Hybrid ARM rates decreased by two basis points, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at average 2.90 percent.

“Employment gains have flagged over the past couple of months, casting some doubt about the strength of the recovery,” said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. “There’s little indication of any strengthening of economic growth at the moment, and it appears that investors have shifted some attention from stocks to bonds of late, pushing rates lower.”

Read the rest of this entry »

As if beautiful women don’t have enough going for them, recent research on the physical attractiveness of real estate brokers found that attractive female real estate agents often sell luxury homes at higher prices than men or less-attractive agents.

The downside is that the homes they sell stay on the market longer than those of other agents, according to the study, “Broker beauty and boon: a study of physical attractiveness and its effect on real estate brokers’ income and productivity.” Attractive agents also sell fewer houses and they don’t earn any more income annually than less-attractive agents.

Read the rest of this entry »

Below is an excerpt from HSH.com’s latest Market Trends newsletter, written by Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. Sign up and receive the newsletter in your inbox Friday evening.

Following the softer tone of the economy, mortgage rates eased downward last week to again land at new record lows. After a hopeful late winter and early spring, the economic data began to point to a lower trajectory for growth, and that’s where we find ourselves at the moment.

Read the rest of this entry »

This morning’s job numbers proved to be another disappointing month for employment in the U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that only 115,000 new jobs were added last month. The unemployment rate eased to 8.1 percent in April from 8.2 percent in March. The decline in the unemployment rate was caused by more job seekers giving up their search for new work.

The good news is that March’s figure was revised upward, from 120,000 to 154,000. From December to February, the monthly job’s numbers have averaged 252,000 new jobs each month. Economists believe that the unseasonably warm winter stole some hiring from March and April. Read the rest of this entry »

Mortgage insurance, also known as private mortgage insurance or PMI, protects your mortgage lender in the case you default on your home loan. If you stop paying your mortgage and your lender is forced to take back the title on your property, mortgage insurance will reduce or even eliminate the risk of loss to the lender.

Mortgage insurance is paid by you, the borrower, in one of several ways, such as a monthly payment, an upfront premium or by paying a higher-than-market interest rate on the loan.

Read the rest of this entry »