We’re back with another edition. Same t-shirt, full-color. Work with me as I learn video editing! Today’s update - Fannie, Freddie and AIG losses and a potential major shift in underwriting guidelines as the GSE’s that would make broker-ordered and in-house appraisals unacceptable as documentation for conforming loan home values.

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Multiples Prop Up Canadian Home Building The Canadian home building sector warmed up again in January from a winter chill that slowed activity in December. Builders kicked off the New Year by pouring the foundations for 222,700 new housing units (annualized rate), an above-expected level and close to the average over the past year. However, […]

Not surprisingly it’s the same people that were buying them last year; there’s just not as many this year. Married couples still make up the overwhelming majority of the Knoxville area buying market and that group is trending toward younger, first time buyers. No surprise there either. With interest rates so attractive right now many […]

It’s nearly impossible to look for a home today without hearing about foreclosures. But how do you translate this headline news into your dream house? With over 2 million listings on Trulia, they compared listing prices with foreclosure prices for bank-owned foreclosure properties (aka REOs) across the country to show you how to buy or […]

Welcome back to Photo Friday - my little way of taking a break from San Francisco Real Estate and instead blogging about our great City’s past instead. All photos are published with permission from the San Francisco History Center and San Francisco Public Library.
So this last week, Curbed SF, WHAT IM SEEING […]

How does $11 billion roll off your lips? I find it a little sickening to try saying the words “lost $11 billion” and it’s not even my money. AIG reported today that not only did it find a way to lose $5.29 billion bucks this quarter; but it also reported a charge of […]

The January 2008 sales figures are out for the greater Knoxville area Realtors. It appears for the first full month of the year in Knoxville we have about a 23% drop in sales volume over the same time period in 2007. Total volume was 783 closed units for January 08 versus 1,017 for January 07. Apparently Knoxville […]

When the real estate market was hot, the practice of tearing down small outdated houses to build modern new homes was a popular practice taking place all over the USA. In some communities the resulting homes, that grew on the land where a small and ordinary once sat, were grand masterpiece properties. Builders learned that […]

President Bush urged Congress to reject a new bill that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of home loans included in bankruptcy cases.  From the Market Watch story on the bankruptcy bill to change mortgage terms:
President Bush urged Congress to reject a Senate bill that would change bankruptcy laws by allowing judges to […]

Here are the latest rates from one lender I deal with:Prime “A” residential rates
Rates effective 26th February, 2008

TERM

Discount RATES

POSTED RATE

6 months

7.00

7.05

1 year

5.95

7.30

2 years

6.05

7.40

3 years

6.05

7.40

4 years

6.05

7.35

5 years

5.79

7.39

7 years

6.20

7.70

10 years

6.25

8.49

5 year VRM

5.25

Prime: 5.75%

Rates subject to approved credit. Rate holds 90-150 days.

Many Mortage companies offer:

100% financing
Ex-bankrupts and bruised credit applicants welcome
Cash backs up to 4% […]