Tag archives for Mortgage Applications

Economists Argue that Lenders are Now Too Conservative

Over the past two years, lenders have been turning down more and more mortgage applications. In 2009, 23.5 percent were turned down, and that number rose by 3.5 percent in 2010. And although everyone agrees that lenders cannot return to the “freewheeling” policies that originally inflated the housing bubble, many are concerned that now lending practices are actually interfering with Read full article »

Interest Rates Up, Mortgage Applications Down – What Does It Mean?

30-year mortgage rates hit their highest level in a year last week, pushing mortgage applications (both purchase money and refi's) downward, breaking a 3-week uptrend for mortgage applications. Let's be clear: This is a negative occurrence, as fewer mortgage applications invariably means fewer mortgages granted and fewer properties sold. However, its merely a "blip" on the radar screen since a Read full article »

Why Refi’s Are Good For The Real Estate Market

Recently I've written several posts that use the increasing rate of mortgage applications as statistical evidence of an improving real estate market. Each time I do so, one of the primary replies is something like "of course that's happening - but most of those mortgages are refinances, so it doesn't really mean anything". My initial inclination was to assign some legitimacy to Read full article »

Clash Of The Indicators: The Real Estate Market Hits Bottom

In the very same day, the following two real estate market announcements were made: ** Mortgage applications increased for a third consecutive week and ** The sentiment (outlook) of home builders hit its lowest level ever last month The increase in mortgage applications is undeniably a positive sign, as it indicates the rising confidence of the home buying public that the prices available to Read full article »

Mortgage Applications Continue To Rise, Despite…

For a third straight week, mortgage applications were on the rise according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Simultaneously, interest rates were dropping and the fall and bail-out of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac were in full swing. It's interesting isn't it, that mortgage applications are up - indicating more buying activity - while all of the news in the media Read full article »

The Politics of Real Estate

Few industries are as profoundly impacted by the political machinations in Washington as the real estate industry. Whether it's old legislation like Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act or Barack Obama's massive mortgage bailouts, the U.S. political machine has a huge impact (usually bad) on the business of real estate.

Ideally, we could ignore politics. But here at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, we insist on seeing the world with clarity - including the reality of Washington's aggressive involvement in every facet of our business, from mortgage lending to real estate sales license; from loan modification regulations to appraisal requirements... every piece of our business is profoundly impacted by politics. So rather than stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality, readers of the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter choose to be informed and prepared.

About Bryan Ellis

Bryan Ellis is an Atlanta-based real estate analyst and publisher of the widely read newsletter "The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter". With over 200,000 subscribers - including real estate investors, agents, brokers, appraisers and other real estate professionals - the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter is among America's largest sources of unbiased coverage of politics and public policy for the real estate industry.

Bryan Ellis serves as editor in chief for the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter and is assisted by an extraordinary staff of writers, researchers and editors who are each real estate experts in their own right and who assure that the news we report is well researched, factual, and highly relevant to today's real estate industry.

Bryan is very happily married and has two wonderful daughters. He makes his home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact the team at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter here.