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A few weeks ago I wrote about a blog post from the Federal Reserve. In their blog post, they had explained why the rate hike shouldn’t impact long-term mortgage rates. And they were right. In fact, we’ve seen exactly the opposite happen. We’ve had weeks and weeks of decreasing rates on long-term, fixed-rate mortgage rates.…

This blog covered in a post last month the fact that the Fed has indicated a commitment to keeping long-term interest rates in the housing market low. In fact, as we also reported, the Fed rate hike was unlikely to affect long-term, fixed-rate mortgages. However, markets are complicated, and the Fed has more than one…

Fitch, the rating agency, released their predictions for the 2016 housing market, and concluded that, “low oil prices, generally robust employment growth, demographics, pent-up demand, still attractive affordability/housing valuations, and a steady, moderate easing in credit standards should further stimulate housing demand in 2016”. And that was their prediction, based on the likelihood of mortgage rates going…

Everyone knows that student debt is mounting. There’s an entire generation coming of age under a mountain of debt, with the value of that debt (in terms of job prospects) being somewhat questionable. In a somewhat under-reported change in mortgage regulations, life got a little harder for those carrying such debt. As of last September, the…

U.S. demographics are changing. Much of the talk around that topic focuses on aging Boomers and the migration of Millennials back into cities. But there are other demographic changes as well. The caucasian population will start to shrink in the next ten years, while Hispanic and Asian populations are expected to double over the next…

Towards the end of 2015, two things happened that made some people worry about Interest rates, and potentially hold off on buying or refinancing — the change in mortgage regulations, which was predicted to slow down the process, at least in the short run; and the Fed rate hike. As I’ve written before, neither of…

Of course, we all know that some cities are expensive. When you talk about housing in San Francisco or New York, nobody thinks that comparing to the rest of the country is a sensible idea. But the reality is that, for decades, urban housing country-wide has been cheaper than suburban housing. But with changing demographics,…

If you’ve been following along with this blog for a while, then you probably now know that QE3 from the Fed helped keep interest rates down at least through 2014, and probably for three quarters thereafter. Also, you know that the Fed rate hike last year was unlikely to have any impact on long-term mortgage…

It’s taken a long time to “recover” from the 2008 crash. But, housing prices are up, foreclosures are down, and interest rates are good. What could possibly be wrong? Well, if we look to our friends over in the U.K., we hear the story that perhaps they didn’t learn from our 2008 crash. That could have big…

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone! Yesterday, as I was writing about the impact winter weather had on the housing market, I ended up wondering how much winter we really were likely to have left, and so naturally, my thoughts turned to the groundhog. Sadly, it turns out that groundhogs are not very good predictors (37% accuracy, and…