Rod Dennis Blog

In another good sign for the housing market, today’s home builders believe that the housing market has turned a corner. For the third straight month, the Housing Market Index — a home builder confidence survey from the National Association of Homebuilders — reported strong monthly gains. December...

As mortgage rates drop, so do housing payments. It’s a good time to consider refinancing your home, or making an offer on a new one. Mortgage payment affordability has never been so high in history. According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate is now 3.94 percent – an al...

Long-term mortgage rates fell to record lows this week. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.94 percent in the week ending Dec. 15, down from 3.99 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac’s (OTC BB: FMCC) weekly’s rate report, matching an all-time low for 30-year mortgages. The average rat...

For many Americans, our homes represent our single largest financial investment and asset, let alone the place where we eat, sleep, live our lives and raise our families. Given all the life changes that we can experience in 12 months, it’s worth taking a moment to review what has happened in our ...

Foreclosure activity continues to concentrate over just a few states. According to foreclosure-tracker RealtyTrac, November’s foreclosure filings fell 3 percent as compared to October, and 14 percent from November 2010. “Foreclosure filing” is a catch-all term for the various “action steps” throu...

BusinessWeek recently released its 2011 America’s Best Place to Raise a Family rankings. College-town Blacksburg, Virginia took top honors, breaking a 2-year win streak for the Chicago, Illinois region. In 2009, suburban Mount Prospect, Illinois placed first. Last year, it was Tinley Park, Illino...

Tuesday, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. The vote was nearly unanimous for the second straight month. Just one FOMC member dissented in the vote, favoring additional policy stimulus beyond what t...

For as low as 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates are in AZ today, 15-year fixed rate mortgage rates are even lower. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey, the average 15-year fixed rate mortgage rate is now 3.27% nationwide with an accompanying 0.8 discount points. 1 discount poin...

As a homeowner in Scottsdale , your fiscal responsibility extends beyond just making mortgage payments. You must also pay your home’s real estate taxes as they come due, as well as your homeowners insurance policy premiums. Failure to pay real estate taxes can result in foreclosure. Failure to i...

The Federal Open Market Committee released its November 2011 meeting minutes, revealing a Fed split on whether new stimulus is needed for the U.S. economy. The Fed Minutes is published 8 times annually, three weeks after each scheduled Federal Open Market Committee meeting. It’s the official rec...