Bob's Coto Blog

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...

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.  But there's risk involved. This NBC Today Show interview first ran in M...

The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has been extended until June 30, 2011, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). “FHFA has reviewed the current market situation and the state of mortgage insurance availability and has determined that the market conditions that necessita...

Mortgage markets improved last week as economic reports painted a less-than-stellar portrait of the U.S. economy and concerns of a looming monetary policy change eased. Mortgage pricing improved dramatically, despite a late-Friday retreat. Mortgage rates are now at their lowest levels since early...

This, from Jon Lansner, in today’s Orange County Register: For the 22 business days ending February 5 – freshest numbers from DataQuick — our region-by-region analysis of homebuying shows Orange County slices up geographically speaking this way … * DataQuick identified 570 homes selling in Orange...

Earlier this week, the private-sector Case-Shiller Index showed home prices slightly lower between November and December. Thursday, the public-sector Home Price Index showed the same. Publishing on a 2-month lag, the Federal Home Finance Agency said home prices fell by 1.6 percent nationally in ...

The meltdown sent interest rates soaring and availability shrinking, but rates are declining and lenders are more willing to make loans that top the limits for Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the FHA. By E. Scott Reckard The Los Angeles Times February 24, 2010 Phil Kelly had 18 more months to go befo...

Saving Face, If Not the House   ( From Tuesday’s American Banker Internet.) After years of talking about "preserving homeownership," the mortgage servicing industry has a new buzzword: finding a "graceful exit" for seriously delinquent homeowners who do not qualify for loan modifications.   To mo...

The housing recovery showed particular weakness in the New Homes Sales category last month -- good news for homebuyers around the country. A "new home" is a home for which there's no previous owner. New Home Sales fell 11 percent from the month prior and posted the fewest units sold in a month s...

I learned something interesting from my preferred lender this morning. About a year ago, enterprising people started a new phenomenon which later became known as a “Buy and Bail”. Some, who were increasingly upside down in their present home, saw how low prices were getting on a bigger or better ...