It’s hard to remove your emotions from the equation when buying real estate. After all, a home is so much more than just a product. It is where your children will grow up, where you will retire, your sanctuary, your office, your pet shelter, and so much more. However, just as we tend to make…
DetailsIs it deja vu or is 2008 shaping up to look extremely similar to 2001? If you’ll recall, in 2001, we’d just gone through the bursting of the Tech Bubble and the economy was sliding into recession. The Federal Reserve started lowering interest rates and the number of home refinances soared. Are we going to…
Details(Knoxville, TN) The real estate bubble has burst… We’re in for a long hard ride in the real estate market… The credit crunch has destroyed real estate values… These are some of the phrases you’ve heard over the past couple of months. And, they are true for certain pockets of the country, not for East…
Details(Knoxville, TN) Unless you’ve been on a deserted island over the past month, you know the financial markets are experiencing mortgage chaos. Historically, Knoxville fares quite well during turbulent times in the housing industry. However, tightening in the credit markets has resulted in lenders offering fewer loan programs. Mortgage professionals are advising current home owners…
DetailsInterest rates have increased over the past 6 months and this is catching many potential homebuyers by surprise. As interest rates increase, purchasing power decreases. Why are rates increasing? Well, if you’ve been following the mortgage industry you know that several large lenders have filed for bankruptcy. Most lenders take out large lines of credit…
DetailsAll of the problems we’ve seen in subprime mortgages over the past 9 months are finally starting to show-up in the overall economy. Bear Stearns recently reported that two of their hedge funds are essentially worthless due to bad bets on subprime loans. Ben Bernanke said today during his congressional briefing that economic growth will…
DetailsWe’re now seeing interest rates hit their 11-month high. Where will they go from here? Anybody’s guess. It’s a tough housing environment with all of the Sub-Prime mess, high level of home inventory and now rising interest rates. Check out the article published on Yahoo Finance today.
New home construction numbers were released today by the Commerce Department. February housing starts improved over the steep decline in January. However, just like we’ve seen over the past few months, there were mixed signals. Building permits which are an indicator of builder confidence declined. Permits have now declined 12 out of the past 13…
DetailsWow! The past two weeks in the mortgage industry have been wild. Sub-prime lenders are scared to death. Several more companies have gone out of business. All of the others are quickly tightening their guidelines. Stock prices have plummeted and employees are scrambling. I honestly believe most people saw this coming. We certainly did. What’s…
DetailsAs expected, many subprime lenders have filed bankruptcy or closed operations during the first 45 days of 2007. Most of these lenders are having to buy back loans from the investors who purchased the loans. The main reason for the buybacks are first payment defaults. In my opinion, we will continue to see a shakeout…
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