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7 Weeks Left to Find Home and Up To $8,000 in Tax Credits

In November, Congress extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program to include a subset of “move-up” buyers — homeowners that have owned and lived in their home for 5 of the last 8 years. The credit ranges up to $8,000 per buyer. There’s now just 7 weeks left to take advantage. To be eligible, home [...]

What’s Ahead for Mortgage Rates This Week: March 8th

Mortgage markets improved last week in low-volume trading. Between Monday to Thursday, Wall Street focused on the upcoming jobs reports and mortgage markets gained while traders jockeyed for position. Mortgage rates drifted lower through Thursday afternoon. But, then, after a better-than-expected Non-Farm Payrolls report Friday morning, mortgage markets — and mortgage rates — reversed. Overall, mortgage rates [...]

Pending Home Sales Tank, Actual Home Sales Should Rise

Fewer homes went under contract in January as the housing market continues to limp through the winter months. According to the National Association of Realtors®, the Pending Home Sales Index fell to its lowest level in 3 quarters this January. By contrast, in October 2009, the index had touched a 3-year high. The Pending Home Sales Index [...]

Friday’s Jobs Report Can and Will Impact Mortgage Rates

Conforming and FHA mortgage rates have improved over the last 10 days, but that could all change this Friday with the release of February’s Non-Farm Payrolls report. Non-Farm Payrolls is the official name of the government’s monthly jobs report and, given the fragile state of the U.S. economy, Wall Street and Northwest Indiana will be watching [...]

Practical Home Buying Tips for Real Estate Investors

According to the the National Association of Realtors®, “distressed homes” represented nearly 2 of every fifth home sold in January 2010. Clearly, real estate investors are taking advantage of good deals on cheap property even here locally in Northwest Indiana. But there’s risk involved. This NBC Today Show interview first ran in March 2009, featuring real [...]