With interest rates hovering at near historic lows, now is a great time to look back at where they’ve been, and how much they’ve changed over time.
According to Freddie Mac, mortgage interest rates are currently hovering near a five-decade low.
The impact your interest rate has on your monthly mortgage payment is significant. An increase of just $20 dollars in your monthly payment can add up to $240 per year or $7,200 over the life of your loan. Maybe it’s time to lock in now while rates are still low.... Read more

In the spring, many excited buyers get ready to enter the housing market. Others continue dreaming about the homes they’d like to buy. The truth is, many potential buyers continue to dream longer than they need to, simply because they’re confused about the homebuying process. Thankfully, working with a trusted real estate professional can help ease those concerns and make the process to homeownership much easier to understand.

A recent survey conducted by Ipson and Freddie Mac reveals the confidence level of Gen Z and Millennial buyers regarding the homebuying process. The graph below... Read more

The beauty of Elk Grove is the perfect balance of open spaces like the Cosumnes River Preserve and Stone Lake Wildlife Reserve with the business and residential developments. Elk Grove Community has made it a priority to provide parks for the residents and is known for the excellent park management system. Elk Grove offers small homes to ranch estates for sale, giving the city small town feel alongside the growing businesses and amenities of an urban set up.

The population at Elk Grove is diverse, with a wide variety of ethnical groups, income levels and multigenerational families and... Read more

It is everyone’s dream in Sacramento to own a home. As home loans are made easily affordable, almost every family has a home of their own. Home loans with low mortgage rates are provided by the government for low income and bad credit people. These loans have interest rates as less as three percent. Consolidation of loans by the government has made repayment much easier. In spite of all these, foreclosures are on the rise.

The major factors that contribute to foreclosures are fall in real estate prices, abundance of unsold homes, inert home sales and mortgage loans going into default... Read more

Let’s all hope this bill passes. It will continue to spur the economic and real estate recovery.

WASHINGTON — Buying a home is about to get cheaper for a whole new crop of homebuyers — $6,500 cheaper.

First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package. But with that program scheduled to expire at the end of November, the Senate voted 98-0 Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit to include buyers who already own homes. The House is expected to vote on the bill Thursday. Buyers who have owned their c... Read more

Backlash against banks growing over mortgage modifications

James Seeley, a machine shop supervisor at the University of California, Davis, just wants a modified mortgage that he and his wife, Sandi, can better afford.

It’s a common quest in this economy. Seeley’s wages are being cut. His house in Natomas has lost almost half its value. And he owes more than it’s worth, even with a $125,000 down payment in 2006.

"We want to get payments down to 31 percent of our income," said Seeley.

In Curtis Park, Hilary Egan is trying to do the same. He... Read more

A major credit reporting company predicts mortgage delinquency rates will continue rising in the Sacramento area – with 12 percent of homeowners falling at least two months behind on their payments by year’s end.

That’s nearly twice the national projection and a dramatic jump from just two years ago, when less than 2 percent percent of area homeowners’ notes were delinquent.

"California faces some challenges, and that’s reflected in the statistics," said Ezra Becker, director of consulting and strategy at TransUnion, one of the nation’s three lar... Read more

Troubled homeowners wrestle with loan holders

By Kevin G. Hall

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/2111186.html?storylink=pd

WASHINGTON – Nearly three years into the deepest U.S. housing slump in generations, lenders are modifying only a small number of problem mortgages, and rising foreclosures are restraining the economy’s recovery.

The Obama administration has stepped up pressure on lenders and their mortgage servicers, who act as bill collectors on behalf of investors who own mortgage bonds. The administration on Aug. 4 unveiled the first of what... Read more

Find The Best Deal On Home Refinancing

http://www.kcra.com/family/19402420/detail.html


(ARA) - Like so many Americans, you may have a balloon mortgage that is coming due or you’ve had an unexpected financial hit such as a large hospital bill or a job loss that has made your current mortgage payments unreasonable. If so, refinancing your mortgage can be a great way to save money every month.

Refinancing your mortgage also lets you consolidate other debt, such as credit card balances, into one low-interest loan. You may also want to consider converting some ... Read more

Home Front: How assessor slashes property values

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/2014910.html

This week the Sacramento County Assessor’s Office – and more like it across the great foreclosure belts of California – chopped property values again on nearly everything built in the housing boom.

The value slashing in Sacramento County that started in 2007 with 50,000 properties and 90,000 last year, reached 170,000 in 2009. That’s nearly every lot carved from a pasture and turned into a new house sinc... Read more

Home Affordable refi program expanded

Loan-to-value ceiling raised from 105% to 125%
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 1, 2009.

http://www.inman.com/news/2009/07/1/home-affordable-refi-program-expanded

Inman News

Homeowners who are up to 125 percent underwater will be allowed to refinance under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Program if they are current on their payments and their loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The federal regulator overseeing Fannie and Freddie has boosted the program’s ... Read more

Home Front: Lenders’ phones silent as rates rise

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1940229.html


Mortgage rates, rising quickly from near-historic lows earlier this year, are already having negative consequences in the capital region.

"All of a sudden the phones just stopped ringing," said Michael McGee, president of Rancho Cordova’s Winchester McGee Real Estate & Loans.

"At least right now, the refinance window has somewhat shut," added Brent Wilson, senior loan consultant at Sacrament... Read more

Use of short sales on rise in Sacramento housing market

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1933643.html


For years real estate agents have steered buyers away from "short sales," labeling them a mind-numbing, difficult experience that could exhaust the patience of the biblical Job.

Now buyers can hardly avoid them.

"When it’s 50 percent of the inventory you don’t have a choice," said Scott Williams, a Roseville-based ReMax broker. Williams specializes in a complex transaction that may be... Read more

Fighting your inner demons may be difficult, BUT don’t be afraid to open the envelope.

Not long ago a GreatWest GMAC Real Estate Professional recalled that she had gone to the home of a client to perform a listing presentation for a possible short sale.

During the presentation and while looking at paperwork the client had, the agent noticed there were several recent envelopes the client had from the mortgage company. Most of the envelopes were not opened.

When the agent asked why they had not opened the envelopes, the client stated they knew they didn’t have the m... Read more