Update

Mortgage Weekly Update

Mortgage News You May Have Missed Over the Holidays

By Aly Yale / January 3, 2020
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The holidays saw the usual slowdown in the mortgage industry, but demand is still strong compared to years prior. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), we’ll close out 2019 with purchase loans up 5% over the year and refinances…

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The Current State of Renting (and Buying)

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / July 12, 2019
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In a recent Freddie Mac survey, a record 82% of renters said renting is more affordable than owning. That’s up from the 67% who also thought it was cheaper just a year ago. That is a significant number of potential…

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Does It Really Matter How Low Mortgage Rates Go?

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / June 28, 2019
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Predictions are always interesting. Of course some are more interesting than others, depending on topic. Some are scientific (like predicting the winner of the Super Bowl), while others are made for fun (like the weather). Mortgage guru Barry Habib made…

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Misconceptions Among Potential Homeowners About What It Takes to Buy a Home

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / June 21, 2019
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The Fed left rates alone this week which was good news for the financial markets. It was not the best news for mortgage rates, but it wasn’t the worst either. A drop would have been nice, but not moving isn’t…

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Is This a Sustainable Housing Market?

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / June 7, 2019
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“Tepid.” That’s been one description of the home purchase market this spring. Applications to purchase a home were off slightly for the week — but still a little better than this time last year. Pending home sales were down also,…

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Why We Need to Stop Blaming Housing Market Malaise on the Trade War with China

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / May 31, 2019
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For many of us, “Made in China” was commonly found on the packaging of most of our toys as children. Electronics were “Made in Japan” until eventually those electronics were also made in China. A grandfather’s protest and objection to…

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Mortgage Updates

Freddie Mac Revises 2019 Forecast for the Mortgage and Housing Markets

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / May 17, 2019
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Freddie Mac recently revisited 2019 forecasts for the mortgage and housing markets. Home price appreciation was higher than expected in the first quarter of 2019. Although it was only slightly higher than previously projected, it led Freddie to revise their…

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Mortgage Updates

Getting Ready for the 2019 Hurricane Season

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / May 10, 2019
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Before summer even starts, the 2019 hurricane season will kick off June 1st. While it’s easy to just think about summer concerts and festivals rather than inclement weather, it’s a little more critical to be prepared in the event you…

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Mortgage Updates

Freddie Mac, the Fed, and Other Reasons Things Look Good

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / May 3, 2019
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Mortgage rates and concerns about those rates were eased as the Federal Reserve maintained its patient, wait-and see-attitude this week. Nothing from this week’s meeting indicates we are likely to see the Fed hike interest rates at any time in…

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Mortgage Updates

Disappointing Housing Data and the Impact This Spring

By Embrace Home Loans Staff / April 26, 2019
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Amid the recent release of some reasonably good economic data, housing data disappointed as starts, permits, and mortgage demand all fell. There was an improvement in purchase applications, but unfortunately, it couldn’t be outweighed by the drop in refinance applications. Inventory, especially…

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