Rates down a bit this week after a big jump last week.  If you are thinking about refinancing or buying real estate in Portland, rates are looking pretty good right now.
30 Year Fixed            5.0%
FHA 30 Year Fixed    5.25%
Stay tuned as rates have been up and down lately.  We will provide another update next week.

Looks like more good news on the way to help home sales, according to Bill Gross of Pimco.   See this short video were he talks about the economy, stimulus plans and where he sees the Treasury and mortgage market going.  He’s predicting the Fed will come in and buy Treasurys which will result in a [...]

If you are thinking about selling your home in the next couple years, it may be wise to do it sooner than later. After watching the 60 Minutes report on Option-ARM and Alt-A loans, it seems we’re only halfway through the troubled loan problems.  This is a national problem, but it will impact the Portland [...]

After watching this recent 60 Minutes report, it seems we’re only halfway through the troubled loan problem. The subprime loans crisis peaked this year. We saw the carnage of that, and we’re well aware of the effect on housing prices here in the Portland area, not to mention tightening of lending standards nationwide.
The [...]

The two main agencies that purchase mortgage debt in America have the nicknames of Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.   These agencies purchase well over half of all mortgages made by banks coast to coast, and the guidelines they use drive the loan types, and pricing for residential mortgages.  One important restriction that these agencies place [...]

The mortgage market continues its Yo-Yo pattern and we saw a full .5% in rate come off the 30 year fixed mortgage this week.  Looks like we’re settling down at 6% after a week or two of rates closer to 6.625%.

I’m starting to notice that the normal market relationship between equities [...]

Mortgage Rates ended up on the week and are trending higher.  But with volatility reigning supreme on Wall St and in the bond market, who knows what Monday will bring!  I’m beginning to feel like we have a yo-yo like pattern of rates swinging between 6% and 6.5% week over week.  [...]

The bond market finally capitulated slightly this week giving mortgage rates a little relief after 4 weeks of extreme volatility.  Rates lowered by about .25% overall.  One thing that seems to have happened in the last 2 weeks is the shrinking of available loan programs.  In the conforming or “agency” loan universe (loans purchased by [...]

According to a recent Forbes article on the economy, Portland was named one of the best cities to weather the recession.  The criteria used was job growth, unemployment, income and real estate data.  Also factored in was how much of recent growth was due to the financial services industry.
Portland ranked #4 on the list of [...]

There are still options available to buy a house in Portland with zero down, but you must act fast to take advantage!

FHA loans require approximately 3% down for home purchase loans. Currently, borrowers are able to obtain this 3% from the sellers via Down-Payment-Assistance programs (DPA) such as Ameridream or Neihamiah. This effectively allows the buyer to obtain a 100% financing loan.

However, beginning October 1st, 2008, the new law will prohibit Down-Payment-Assistance programs. All mortgages involving DPA’s will have to be underwritten and approved by September 30th!