Rochester MN Real Estate Market Blog

The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by one-quarter of a percentage point yesterday, in what many economists are predicting might be the last such cut by the Federal Reserve for a while. It is the seventh cut since late August, and it comes as the Fed is trying to balance between fears of impending recession and [...]

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We didn’t see the broad swings in interest rates this week as were experience in weeks past.  With little new economic news for the week rates settled in for a slightly lower average then last week.
Ecnomic news was mixed for the week. The Fed is forecasting that with the recent rate cuts and the [...]

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WASHINGTON, D.C.
• Federal Reserve maps show key areas of concern
• What color is your state?
• Scroll down to the bottom for the website link
The Federal Reserve System now has a set of dynamic maps and data online that illustrate sub prime and alt-A mortgage loan conditions across the United States. The maps [...]

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After two weeks of nice declines, mortgage rates rose during the week, back to the levels seen at the end of February. March was an extremely volatile month, with large daily swings a common occurrence. Investors bought mortgage backed securities during periods of increased concern about the stability of the credit markets. Just as quickly, [...]

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Tuesday, the Fed’s surprise announcement of a new $200 billion lending facility led to a 400 plus point rally in the Dow, the biggest one day percentage gain since March 2003. The effect on mortgage rates was also favorable. The newly available funds will make it more appealing for financial institutions to borrow money from [...]

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In a week packed with major economic news, the biggest story for mortgage markets was the widening spread between mortgage backed securities and Treasury bonds. Issued by the US government, Treasury bonds are generally considered to be the benchmark for a “safe” security, since the risk of default is extremely low. During the week, the [...]

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Effective today the new maximum FHA loan limit for Olmsted county has increased to $271,050.  FHA allows a little more flexibility for borrowers with less then perfect credit or down-payment money that is being gifted to them. This is also  good news for sellers up to this loan limit as the pool of buyers of perspective [...]

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The biggest economic news of the week was expected to come from Fed Chief Bernanke, but a surprise announcement from OFHEO had the greatest impact on mortgage markets. Wednesday, OFHEO, the government regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced that it will remove the limits placed on the portfolio sizes of the two companies [...]

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