http://7percentmortgage.com Lock it in! Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:03:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Here is a great resource put out that shows a heat map of the 2008 US Foreclosure Heat Map. This gives you a good idea where the mortgage and real estate markets have fell apart the most. http://7percentmortgage.com/2009/01/18/2008-us-foreclosure-heat-map/ Last year I recommended that you stay out of real estate investing.  If you did that and accumulated capital, you should be frothing at the mouth at some of the deals out there.  Mortgage rates for those of you with good credit can be found today at 5%, with an ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/12/29/mortgage-rates-have-investors-frothing/ Boy mortgage rates could become extremely attractive if the government bails out banks from their bad debt.  With this happening along with the support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage markets could begin to reflect some of the lower interest rates out there.  We've seen rates come off ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/09/21/mortgage-rates-looking-good-could-head-lower/ Mortgage rates edged down over the long weekend with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage average slipping to near 6.25%.  The jumbo and the 15-year fixed also edged down over the holiday weekend.  As I mentioned previously, any ability to grab a mortgage when the national average is near 6% was ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/09/02/mortgage-rates-edge-down/ Government sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got a much needed boost today when they announced that they had sold $2 billion in short term loans.  This should allow the two companies to continue to guarantee new loans and make money.  Without the selling of debt, the two firms ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/08/26/fannie-and-freddie-secure-funding/ Last week, mortgage rates ended up slightly with the 30 year fixed mortgage rates up 6 basis points to 6.39% and the 15 year fixed rate mortgage up 9 basis points to 5.95%.  Some stability is coming back to the market and many believe that US interest rates will be ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/07/28/mortgage-rates-end-week-up/ While the solvency of mortgage bond originators and large holders is/has been called into question lately, it seems as if the mortgage bond market is beginning to shore up.  This is a good sign for real estate investors and with some confirmation may signify the overall bottom in the macro ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/07/21/agency-mortgage-bonds-look-attractive/ So Uncle Sam is going to move to save Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Super, sounds like another instance of an "avoided failure" among financial institutions.  But everyone seems to be wondering, isn't failure supposed to happen in market economies?  Something of a moral hazard issue. At least that's what we ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/07/15/why-uncle-sams-bailout-helps-mortgage-holders/ In what amounts to a modicum of good news for real estate investors and homeowners, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate creeped back near my "take it" rate of 6% (using the national average, of course, local rates and credit score both affect rates significantly).  The 30-year fixed rate mortgage end ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/07/13/mortgage-rates-creep-down-last-week/ Despite the latest hawkish tone that drove oil down and the dollar up last week, we're seeing a new tone from analysts and traders who sent oil flying again on Monday.  The dollar also retreated as many believe that the Fed cannot afford to raise rates, even by a quarter ... http://7percentmortgage.com/2008/06/16/dollar-oil-move-despite-bernanke/