Signs of Life in Jumbo Lending

Big banks compete with credit unions, community banks

Jumbo lending is staging a comeback of sorts, with major lenders once again buying the oversize mortgages from other lenders or allowing independent mortgage brokers to originate loans for them.

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Pending Home Sales Up For 4th Straight Month

Home sales continued their modest upward swing in May, according to a closely watched industry report that rose for the fourth straight month for the first time in nearly 5 years. The Pending Home Sales Index, reported Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), rose 0.1% during the month. The index was up 6.7% … Read more

Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

mortgageRISMEDIA, June 25, 2009-The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 19, 2009.  The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 548.2, an increase of 6.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from 514.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 6.0% compared with the previous week and increased 17.2% compared with the same week one year earlier.

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May Existing-Home Sales Continue Rising Trend

for sale photoRISMEDIA, June 24, 2009-Sales of existing homes showed another gain in May, benefiting from favorable affordability conditions and a first-time buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors®. May’s increase was the first back-to-back monthly gain since September 2005.

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Tax Credit for Home Purchase Could Rise

dollar signLawmakers and businesses are calling for expansion of a tax credit for first-time homebuyers that has helped spark home sales in an otherwise dismal real estate market. With the tax credit scheduled to expire in the fall, some business groups say the amount of the credit, now capped at $8,000, should be raised to $15,000 and applied to anyone who buys a home.

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Inflation Data Sends Rates Into Retreat

Web ImagesFreddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended June 18 showed significant decreases in rates on all mortgage products although they are still above the record low territory of late spring.

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La Traviata!

Dessay 2What could be better than Verdi’s most beloved opera to open the 2009 Festival Season? How about Natalie Dessay in her first-ever performances as Violetta! This quintessential story of passionate young love, separation, and reconciliation receives an all-new staging led by the director / designer team of Laurent Pelly and Chantal Thomas.

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Report Favors Santa Fe Housing Market

santa feIt might be hard to believe, given the recent downturn in the local real-estate market, but a national news report predicts Santa Fe will be among the top 10 housing markets in the U.S. over the next decade.

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