Bob's Coto Blog

Super Bowl Weekend traditionally marks the start of the Spring Buying Season in real estate.  Anecdotally, real estate agents will tell you that buyer activity tends to tick higher at this time of the year. Meanwhile, with mortgage rates still trolling near all-time lows and Congress debating a f...

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged today.  It remains within a target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. In its press release, the FOMC reiterated most of the key points from its December 2008 statement, including: The U.S. employment outlook continues to de...

The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its 2-day meeting today.  The monetary policy-setting group is expected leave the Fed Funds Rate within its current target range of 0.00-0.250 percent. This is the lowest range for the Fed Funds Rate in history and, frankly, there isn't much room le...

Don't let the plunging median sales price fool you -- December's Existing Home Sales data has home sellers smiling.  Just one month after falling below the 5-million unit trend line, sales volume roared back by 300,000 homes in December, surprising housing analysts and making a case that this spr...

When a homeowner sells his home and decides to buy a new one, there are 3 basic options for the residence -- sell it, keep it, or rent it. Unfortunately, no matter which path they choose, move-up homebuyers in need of a new conforming mortgage will find qualifying for a home loan to be more diffi...

After improving through 11 straight weeks, mortgage rates finally ticked higher last week.  This, according to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey.  The Freddie Mac survey showed that mandatory mortgage fees rose last week, too. Unfortunately, the bad news for rate shoppers doesn't stop the...

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is a popular measure of domestic home prices, released monthly.  The index reports on the largest 20 U.S. markets, painting a broad picture of real estate values nationwide. Despite the Case-Shiller Index's two obvious flaws -- (1) it only counts repeat sale...

For spot heating, many homeowners turn to portable electric space heaters; it's often more efficient to plug one in than to raise the household thermostat by a degree or two. But using a space heater isn't as safe as it is simple.  According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2005, s...

Another week, another headline screams how mortgage rates have falled to an all-time low. Freddie Mac published its weekly mortgage rate survey Thursday and found that the "average" mortgage rate is now 4.96 percent, the lowest since the survey started in 1971. But, if we look beyond the headline...

After a weak holiday shopping season, annual retail sales declined in 2008. It marks the first annual Retail Sales decline since the government started tracking the data 40 years ago. It also gives credence to the notion that the U.S. economy is suffering through a deeper recession that previousl...