When the government nationalized mortgage lending in September, housing analysts predicted lower mortgage rates.

For a brief two-week stint, they were right — post-takeover, the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage fell below 6.000 percent nationally for the first time in 7 months.

Since then, however, mortgage markets have reversed. Rates are now at pre-takeover levels.

Now, [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to cut the Fed Funds Rate by one-half percent today. The benchmark rate now stands at 1.000 percent.

In its press release, the Fed wasted no time addressing the key issue at-hand, stating that economic activity has “slowed markedly”, pointing to three main causes:

Consumer spending [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its scheduled 2-day meeting today at 2:15 P.M. ET and the markets are eagerly awaiting the central bank’s press release.

In it, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to address the U.S. economy, the future of credit, and the new Fed Funds Rate.

It’s this [...]

Despite turmoil on Wall Street, the housing sector continues to deliver good news.

Last month, led by a 22 percent surge from the West Region, New Home Sales rose 2.7 percent over August.

A “new home” is a newly-built residence, never before lived in. New homes are usually built and sold [...]

Now that you’ve replaced your home’s energy-hogging light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones, meet the next wave of environmentally-friendly home lighting — LED.

Though nearly 10 times as expensive as compact fluorescent bulbs, LED lights hold several advantages as a green alternative:

LED bulbs consume up to 1/30th of the energy of a CFL LED [...]

Statistics are what you make of them, but sometimes, they can provide good perspective.

For example, from its peak in 2005 to its trough in late-2007, the number of “used” homes sold nationwide plunged.

In 2005: Roughly 7 million homes sold annually In 2007: Roughly 5 million homes sold annually

Through all of 2008, though, [...]

According to foreclosure-tracking service RealtyTrac, the foreclosure rate is falling nationwide.

Versus August, foreclosures fell by 12 percent in September 2008 as more than half of the states showed month-over-month improvement.

Most interesting in the data is that several states that led the foreclosure boom in 2007 now appear to [...]

In the widest definition possible, amortization (pronounced: am-ohr-tih-ZAY-shun) is the scheduled process by which a loan’s principal balance pays down to $0.

The opposite of an amortizing loan is an interest only loan for which there is no scheduled principal repayment schedule.

With respect to mortgages, amortization is what determines how much of a monthly [...]

In an effort to limit risky borrower behavior, Fannie Mae announced a new round of mortgage guideline changes last week.

Unlike previous its previous 20-plus updates that raised income requirements and minimum credit scores (among other changes), Fannie’s latest guideline tweaks focus on the value of its underlying mortgage assets — [...]

It was a chilly weekend in most parts of the country, a not-so-subtle reminder that winter is right around the corner. And, for homeowners with ceiling fans, falling temperatures signal that it’s time to reverse your home’s air flow.

In the cooler Fall and Winter months, ceiling fan blades should [...]