John Meussner's Blog

FHA Loans Are Getting More Affordable For the first time in a long time, HUD has announced that FHA loans are getting more affordable!  A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (specifically, circa 2009 when housing was in a bubble that was bursting), HUD was losing a ton of money due to housin...

As in year's past, we took a look at recent data, historical data, and expected news and economic metrics to come up with a forecast for 2023.We discuss housing, rates, inflation, and recession to come up with some overall forecasts for the housing market.  It's good news for buyers, sellers, and...

"Marry the house, date the rate!" Has anyone heard this one before?  And by before, I mean, throughout 2022 as rates have risen and pushed most home buyers to the sidelines, bringing the real estate industry nearly to a halt? It's perhaps the most widely used marketing pitch in real estate this y...

Conventional loan limits for 2023 were announced today by FHFA, and while the numbers weren't too surprising, one number that stands out is that the high cost area threshold for conventional loans has exceeded $1 million.   This is important because in many high priced markets, down payment is a ...

Why am I posting today about mortgage applications when data on them is and has been released weekly for as long as I can remember?  Because this week signifies the first time application data has been released in a week where we saw a significant drop in interest rates.  Mortgage rates haven't s...

Let's Talk:  Buy Downs When the real estate market stumbles, slows, or goes through any type of shift, it's a pretty well known fact that a couple of things are about to happen:- lenders are going to get creative- inexperienced (or ignorant, or slimy) professionals in the real estate and mortgage...

Prices are falling!  Days on market continue to climb!  Rates have caused buyers to disappear!  The headlines are everywhere today.  More than 60% of homes are no longer receiving multiple offers.  Price drops are the new norm!Doom with a side of gloom are being served up in markets all over Amer...

Rate Lock Fees When getting a home mortgage, at some point along the way in the loan process, you have to "lock in" your interest rate.  Locking in guarantees the rate you're locked at.  If the market gets worse and average rates go higher, if you're locked in, you're protected.  Typically, if th...

Real estate is local.  Kind of.  It's also regional, and also national.  But keeping in mind that the US is a very big place, before discussing home values, it's important to note that in the US, there can be large differences from region to region and from one metro area to another (not to menti...

What the Fed Rate Hike Means for You The Fed hiked their Fed funds rate by .75 today, bringing their borrowing rate up to a 2.25-2.5% range.  This comes on the heels of years of the borrowing range being 0-.25%, so the increase is substantial, even with the borrowing rate remaining relatively low...