Good Housing News from Mortgage Time Market News

In spite of global inflation concerns, Mortgage Time Market News reported for the week ending June 13, 2008

.............With so much talk about the threat of higher inflation, many mortgage investors positioned their portfolios very conservatively ahead of Friday's big Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report. The report, however, revealed no startling surge in inflation. May CPI came in slightly higher than expected, while May Core CPI, which excludes the food and energy components, matched the consensus forecast.

Mortgage investors were pleased that the news wasn't worse, and mortgage rates declined after the report was released, although they remained far higher than the prior week.

In the housing sector, the April Pending Home Sales index jumped 6% from March, far exceeding the consensus forecast for a small decline. Pending Home Sales are a leading indicator of future housing market activity, so the next Existing and New Home Sales reports may show increases.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) latest forecast predicted that conditions will remain soft in the short term, but that activity will pick up during the second half of the year.

Increased FHA Loan Limits are Helping the Housing Market

Read how the FHA loan limit increases are helping to improve home sales

Douglas Vazquez was able to buy a $400,000 condominium with a low down payment, thanks to a Federal Housing Administration loan (Read the full article here).

Best Time to Buy in Four Years?

According to an article published by CNNMoney.com in early March, this could be the best time to buy in four years. The CNN article cited a report that stated "Home prices have dropped so quickly and so far that valuations - the difference between what a home should cost and its actual price - are the lowest they've been since 2004,"

Locally speaking, figures from another source show that the Jackson Metro Area ranked in the top ten of the most undervalued markets in the U.S. in 2007 with housing prices that were 15% under valued.

Real Estate's Significance?

The preamble of the National Association of Realtors opens with "Underneath all lies the Land."

Buyer's Market or Seller's Market?

The real estate market is not entirely a seller's market or a buyer's market at any one time. To some degree it is always a mixed market. Why? Because real estate is inherently a local market and somewhere on the globe it is a seller's market while elsewhere on the globe at the same time it is a buyer's market.

Real Estate Auctions

Auctions offer sellers an advantage in an otherwise buyer advantaged market by creating a sense of urgency.