Shannon Odom's (smodom) Blog

The number of foreclosure filings rose 3 percent in September, according to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac. The term “foreclosure filing” is a catch-all word for housing, comprising default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions. September marked the 19th straight month that th...

The Federal Reserve released its September 21, 2010 meeting minutes Tuesday afternoon. Mortgage rates in Maine are slightly higher today. It’s unwelcome news for this season’s home buyers, and existing homeowners with plans to grab lower rates. Mortgage rates made new lows last week and may have ...

  Mortgage markets improved last week on mixed messages about the economy, and a growing belief that the government will move to stimulate the economy. Conforming mortgage rates in Maine eased lower. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey, average mortgage rates nationwide fell ...

On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report from the month prior.  This month, though, because the first Friday of the month was also the first day of the month, the report was delayed one week. The report hit the wires at 8:30 AM ET thi...

Starting Monday, December 13, 2010, Fannie Mae is changing its mortgage lending guidelines. For some mortgage applicants of Maine , the loan approval process will simplify. For others, it will toughen. How you’ll be affected personally will depend on your credit profile and your loan characterist...

Conforming mortgages is so named because, literally, they conform to the mortgage guidelines set forth by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Of the many traits of a conforming mortgage, one is “loan size” and loan sizes have limits. Mortgages exceeding this loan size limit cannot be securitized as a co...

Consistent with calls of a housing rebound, the Pending Home Sales Index rose again in August. It marks the second straight month of improvement after May’s post-tax credit drop-off. A “pending home” is an existing home under contract to sell, but not yet closed. According to the National Associa...

For the third straight week, mortgage markets showed little conviction in the face of contrasting data. Mortgage bonds ended the week slightly better, but mortgage rates did not. Conforming mortgage rates in Maine were up-and-down all week before ending the week with a slight worsening. The inter...

  Here we go again folks…. Funding for the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) will not be available for a short period of time at the beginning of fiscal year 2011 (FY11). During the temporary lapse of funding, Rural Development will issue Conditional Commitments “subject to t...

The value of a home is based on the basic economic principle of Supply and Demand. When the number of buyers exceeds the number of sellers, home prices rise. Conversely, when sellers outnumber buyers, home prices fall. There’s always a opening price point for negotiation and that figure often fac...