Personal Finance Blog By MoneyRates - Mortgage

The dreaded double-dip could be upon us--at least as far as the housing market is concerned, according to home price data released Dec. 28 by Standard & Poor's for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas fell in October from September, and a composite index of 20 major cities fell 0.8 [...]

Following seven months of decline, mortgage rates are creeping up again. Both 15- and 30-year fixed mortgage rates rose for the fifth straight week, according to Freddie Mac's mortgage market survey for the week ending Dec. 16. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.83 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from the previous week's average [...]

In the wake of the U.S. Department of Labor's depressing jobs report for November, Gallup's Job Creation Index provides a glimmer of hope. According to the index, job creation reached its highest level in November in more than two years. The nationwide index hit a positive 11, the best reading since September 2008, Gallup said. The [...]

A new refinance calculator makes it easier to compare the costs of different refinancing options

Not so long ago financial experts chided consumers for using their homes as ATM machines by doing cash-out mortgage refinance loans. Keeping debt levels lower with less cash-outs It took the collapse of the housing market and tighter lending standards though to change the trend. Last quarter, just 18 percent of homeowners who refinanced their [...]

Find out how sloppy bank foreclosure procedures might prolong the housing slump, despite current mortgage rates reaching record lows.