Fannie Mae Housing Survey shows expectations of rise in home prices and mortgage rates in 2013

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Consumer confidence in the housing sector grew last month, marked by continued positive attitudes toward home price, rental price, and mortgage rate expectations, according to Fannie Mae’s December National Housing Survey results. The growing belief held by Americans that these housing indicators will climb in 2013 may inspire a boost in home purchase activity during the coming months.
Listen to a podcast:Fannie Mae housing-survey-podcast-010713
or read the surveyFannie Mae December 2012 national housing survey

Why it pays to bank locally

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Here are three stories about National Grand Bank (NGB):

1.On the Monday that Hurricane Sandy was blowing into town, Harborside Realty had a closing scheduled where the buyer was getting a mortgage from a “big box” bank. Said bank decided not to open that day, but did not feel it was necessary to inform their customers. What to do? (more…)

First Fannie and Freddie: next up FHA?

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The Editors, Bloomberg View, November 18,2012 The Federal Housing Administration may report this week that it could exhaust its reserves because of rising mortgage delinquencies, a development that could result in the agency needing to draw on taxpayer funding for the first time in its 78-year history. This would follow the $137 billion spent on bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Just like Fannie and Freddie, the FHA has played an important role in stabilizing the housing market, but the three agencies are now backing almost 90% of new mortgages. As my daughter would say, it’s complicated. Read Bloomberg View article

Refinancing – don’t make just the minimum payment

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You’ve heard the ads: refinance now and save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a year.

And it’s true. Let’s take as an example somebody who took out a $300,000 mortgage in the summer of 2009 at 5%. Principal and Interest (P&I) payments would be $1,610 per month. Suppose she now refis at 3.75% with no costs. The monthly payment would drop to $1,315, a saving of $295 per month, over $3,500 a year. Yippee!

The reason my website includes a mortgage calculator that shows the amortization table is to demonstrate just how expensive it is to borrow money over 30 years. It is rather like paying only the minimum on a credit card. In fact, a 30 year mortgage pays down just 3% of the principal in the first year. (more…)