Refinance

6 steps to buying a home in your 30s (Podcast)

How do you become a home buyer in your 30s? Learn the first steps you should be taking, according to one mortgage professional.

HELOC appraisal requirements for 2023 and no-appraisal HELOCs

You almost always need a new appraisal to get a HELOC. But the appraisal can actually work in your favor if your home’s value has gone up.

Mortgage Rates Bounce Slightly Higher

After coming close to the lowest levels in 4 months yesterday, mortgage rates bounced slightly higher today.  There’s never any way to know exactly what rates will do in the future, but it’s not a huge surprise to see the bond market (bonds dictate rate movement) consolidating. What does that mean? In market jargon, “consolidation” is a somewhat vague term that refers to the price or yield of a security doing “something else” after making a meaningful run in either direction.  For example if rates level-off after spiking higher for several days, that could be a consolidation.  Amid that leveling-off process, there could be some good and bad days, but if rates aren’t moving beyond the scope of the initial move, they could be considered to still be consolidating. Why does consolidation make sense right now? To reiterate the point above, consolidation is always a possibility when rates go on a run.  The run can last days, weeks, or even months.  In this case, we have a run toward lower rates that essentially lasted 2 days.  Consolidation also makes sense in advance of really important data or events.  In this week’s case, we have the most important monthly economic report due out on Thursday. Bottom line, due to a combination of the strong move over the past 2 business days and the looming economic data on Thursday, it’s not a surprise to see consolidation.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to see something similar tomorrow. 

Circling The Wagons Ahead of Thursday’s CPI

“Circling the wagons” isn’t a particularly specific term in the realm of financial market commentary.  It’s just a simple way to say that bonds had been doing one thing and are no longer doing that thing.  The motivation for the change can be that the previous thing had run its course or that the next thing carries big two-way risks.  In this week’s case, both are true.  Bonds had a strong rally impetus on Friday.  There was some follow-through on Monday, but also some early signs of resistance.  With a big two-way risk on the horizon in the form of Thursday’s CPI, it’s no surprise to see traders circling the wagons.  We can even make a case for 3.51% as a reasonable technical level for a bounce based on its behavior as a pivot point in December. The next technical zone is very wide, ranging from 3.63 to 3.76, but the wagons should be circled somewhere inside that zone.

North American Savings Bank to shut down consumer direct division 

North American Savings Bank (NASB) announced the shut down decision, which includes layoffs, to employees on Friday, citing market conditions.

Ways to Lower Your Monthly Mortgage Payment

Ways to Lower Your Monthly Mortgage Payment is a post from Pocket Your Dollars.

What Is a Co-Op and How Does It Work?

A co-op, or cooperative, is a housing arrangement in which residents of a building with multiple apartment-style units own the building jointly. Residents don’t actually own the specific individual unit where each resides but, instead, they own shares in a … Continue reading →

The post What Is a Co-Op and How Does It Work? appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.