Twin Cities Real Estate Blog

In the last two weeks we’ve seen interest rates on 30 year fixed mortgages move from 4.5% to 5.5% (or higher) that’s a big OUCH.  This full interest rate point swing has meant that almost overnight, buyers lost well over 10% of their buying power.  Another way to look at it is housing just got [...]

FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.
Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge [...]

This comes from my good friend Nicci Brown… a loan officer with Edina Realty Mortgage
The purpose of a repair is to correct deficiencies which may affect the health of the occupants and the continued marketability of the property.  Knowing the most common issues upfront can prevent costly and stressful delays later.

If the home was built [...]

A few weeks ago I blogged about the need for help in the jumbo mortgage market and I’m here again to expound on the reasons why:
#1 – Jumbo Mortgages are Illiquid Assets Right Now
The secondary market for jumbo loans has largely dried up, which has reduced availability, tightened debt-to-income (DTI) and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, and increased [...]

In just the last few months we’ve seen Linens & Things and Circuit City go completely belly-up and Cost Plus World Market recently closed all their Minnesota stores as well.  When these stores closed, each ran a liquidation sale of their remaining inventory.  In a liquidation sale, prices are regularly reduced until the inventory is [...]

America is in serious trouble and it will take many efforts to bring the country back from a recession/depression.  While most of the measures that the U.S. Government is taking are well beyond my understanding, their efforts on housing are something I believe I have a firm understanding and it is with these efforts which [...]

Every day there is a new article on the housing crisis and every day there’s a new offered solution.  Since everyone else is doing it, I figured it’s time for me to throw my idea into the ring:
My Idea:
The U.S. Government should set up another Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) charged with providing liquidity and stability [...]