Obama?s Housing Plan: Can It Help YOU??

The Obama administration launched a new $75 billion program to help homeowners struggling with their mortgages.  The Making Home Affordable program is expected to help close to 5 million homeowners trapped in the middle of this real estate market/mortgage  meltdown.  The Making Home Affordable initiative will help qualifying homeowners refinance ...

Obama’s Housing Plan: Can It Help YOU??

The Obama administration launched a new $75 billion program to help homeowners struggling with their mortgages.  The Making Home Affordable program is expected to help close to 5 million homeowners trapped in the middle of this real estate market/mortgage  meltdown.  The Making Home Affordable initiative will help qualifying homeowners refinance ...

Be Ready or Miss Out on the Deal

Every school day I drive by a house that I almost bought a few years ago as an investment. I really wanted to buy it. I tried to make an offer on it. But I missed out. And now I am reminded of it often. A few ...

Will the New Federal Bailouts Help Homeowners?

The federal government announced another plan to help homeowners at risk of losing their homes. This new plan promises borrowers reduced interest rates and/or longer terms to make the monthly payments more affordable. However, it will only be available to loans under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which ...

The Who, What, and Why of a Short Sale

With the current financial crisis over our heads, we are hearing a lot more about something called short sales. What exactly is a short sale and who can benefit from a short sale? In a short sale, the lender agrees to discount a mortgage balance due to an economic ...

Real Estate Success Means Changing with the Times

Are we not all tired of hearing about this languishing real estate market?? The real estate and credit crisis are on everyone’ minds and dominate all news sources. But the truth is that it IS a big deal and it IS impacting every facet of the economy, even ...

Fed Funds Futures Pricing 31.1% Chance of Rate Cut for Fed?s Year End Meeting

Fed funds futures are now pricing a 31.1% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by 25 bps for the year end meeting scheduled for Dec. 16 amid a growing U.S. trade deficit and increasing continuing claims report released today. Read More Now

Friday?s Events: U.S. Retail Sales, PPI, Michigan Sentiment; Cdn Cap Utilization

U.S. retail sales and producer prices will highlight the early morning's macroeconomic events for the United States, followed by the preliminary Reuters / University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. In Canada, the focus will be on second-quarter capacity utilization rates and the international investment position. Read More Now ...

What?s Priced in: Current Market Expectations for Future Monetary Policy

Markets are currently pricing in the following probabilities for future interest rate moves as of the close on Thursday: FED - OIS Implied Rates Markets are pricing in a 12% chance of a 25bp cut by the next meeting on Sept. 16. Markets are pricing in a 2% chance of a 25bp cut ...