Attention Home Sellers! Want to make sure you get top dollar for your property? Avoid these top 6 mistakes when selling your home: Don't overprice your home - work with a real estate agent to set a realistic asking price. Don't neglect curb appeal - first impressions matter, so make sure...

  A Look Into the Markets This past week, home loan rates improved to their lowest levels in a month in response to the closures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. Let's walk through what happened as we approach the Fed Meeting next week. SVB Failure and Rates It's...

  A Look Into the Markets This past week, Fed Chair Powell testified on Capitol Hill and his words sent rates higher. Let's walk through what happened and take a peek at what to watch next week. "Rates Need to Go Higher, Faster" On Tuesday and Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome...

  A Look Into the Markets This past week, home loan rates touched their highest levels since November. Let's walk through what happened and mention the big events in the week ahead. Global Inflation Remains High Back in early February Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that the disinflation...

     The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced a decision to reduce the mortgage insurance premium on Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages. The decision was made to provide more affordable housing options to first-time homebuyers and...

  A Look Into the Markets This week, rates touched the highest levels since Fall. Let's walk through three things that happened and what to watch in the week ahead. 1.) Fed Meeting Minutes Released On Wednesday, the Minutes from the February 1st Fed Meeting were released. At...

  A Look Into the Markets This week multiple inflation readings came in higher than expected and home loan rates ticked higher. Let's walk through what happened and what to watch in the week ahead. "More upside inflation surprises could make Fed Policy more aggressive."...

  A Look Into the Markets After last week's surprisingly strong Jobs Report, Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke about the economy and direction of rates. Let's walk through what happened and what to watch in the week ahead. "The strong Jobs Report shows you why we think this...

  A Look Into the Markets This week the Fed hiked rates by .25% and home loan rates improved to their best levels since September. Let's walk through what happened with the Fed and talk about what to watch in the week ahead. "We can now say for the first time that the disinflationary...

  A Look Into the Markets Interest rates hover near the best levels since September, despite several good economic readings reported. Let's discuss what happened and see what is coming next week. Economy Grew to Finish 2022 Gross Domestic Product, a measure of economic growth,...

  A Look Into the Markets Bad economic news helped home loan rates touch the lowest levels in months. Let's discuss what happened and see what is coming next week. Producer Prices Are Falling The Producer Price Index, which is an inflation reading on what producers/wholesalers...

  A Look Into the Markets Home loan rates held steady near the best levels in months after another decline in inflation. Let's look at what happened this week and brace for what is coming in the week ahead. December Consumer Price Index (CPI) The headline Consumer Price Index,...

  A Look Into the Markets The first few trading days of 2023 saw an improvement in rates but the party was derailed by some good news. Let's look at what happened this past week and brace for what is coming in the week ahead. Lower Than Last Year Long term interest rates started...

  A Look Into the Markets Home loan rates crept higher in the final week of 2022. As we prepare to ring in another year, let's look at some themes that should bode well for housing in 2023. Inflation Has Peaked One of the biggest economic stories in the U.S. was seeing inflation...

A Look Into the Markets This week, the Federal Reserve raised the Fed Funds Rate by .50%, the smallest hike in over 6 months, and in response, home loan rates improved. Let's discuss the seemingly odd market reaction and what to watch in the week ahead. "We've covered a lot of...

A Look Into the Markets This week home loan rates improved modestly as we approach an important Fed Meeting and inflation reading next week. Let's discuss what happened and talk about the headline risk on the horizon. More Signs Of Inflation Falling On Tuesday, 3rd Quarter Productivity...

A Look Into the Markets This week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke, and interest rates touched the lowest level in almost 3 months. Let's discuss what happened and look into the week ahead. "Time To Moderate Pace of Rate Hikes May Come as Soon as December Meeting" - Fed Chair Powell...

A Look Into the Markets A little history about the Thanksgiving Holiday: Sarah Joseph Hale campaigned for a national Thanksgiving in the United States during the 19th century, eventually winning President Abraham Lincoln's support in 1863. He and subsequent presidents proclaimed a National...

A Look Into the Markets This week, interest rates touched the lowest levels in two months on the idea that inflation may have peaked. Let's break down what happened and look into Thanksgiving Week. 0-yr Note Touches 3.67% The 10-yr Note yield touched 3.67% this week, a large rate improvement...

A Look Into the Markets This week, interest rates moved a bit sideways after Election Day and only added to the uncertainty as ballots continue to be counted. Let's discuss what happened and look into the week ahead. Consumed By Uncertainty It has been nearly a year since the Federal...

A Look Into the Markets This week interest rates revisited 2022 highs in response to the Fed meeting, where the Federal Reserve raised the Fed Funds Rate by .75%. Let's discuss what happened and investigate the week ahead. "It's very premature in my view to be thinking about or...

A Look Into the Markets This past week we watched interest rates improve nicely on the notion that central banks around the globe will be hiking rates less going forward. Let's break down what happened this week as we approach the important Fed meeting next Wednesday. "We've made...

A Look Into the Markets This past week we watched the 10-year yield hit a fresh 14-year high, closing above 4.00%. As a result, home loan rates also ticked higher. Let's discuss what happened and investigate the week ahead. Inflation Is High Everywhere Global yields continue to push...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, we witnessed the highest consumer inflation reading in 40 years and the markets responded. Let's walk through what happened and investigate the week ahead. Consumer Prices Still Rising On Thursday, the Personal Consumption Index (CPI) was reported...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, a leading indicator of labor market health was reported ugly, which helped stocks and bonds perform well. However, we still witnessed some incredible volatility and uncertainty thanks to more Fed member speeches. Let's walk through what happened and...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, we watched the sharpest one-day decline in Treasury rates since 2008. The rate relief was relatively short-lived as uncertainty and volatility reign supreme in the financial markets. Let's recap what happened and investigate the big news in the week...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, the Federal Reserve raised the Fed Funds Rate by .75% and issued its quarterly economic projections. In response, home loan rates ticked up to a new 2022 high. Let's discuss three things we learned from the Fed Meeting and what to watch in the weeks...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, we saw some surprisingly hot inflation numbers which hurt the financial markets and pushed rates to the highest levels of 2022. Let's walk through what happened and look into the week ahead. Inflation Remains High Last Tuesday the Consumer Price...

A Look Into the Markets The financial markets had a rough week, with stocks falling and rates spiking since Fed Chair Powell spoke in Jackson Hole last Friday. Let's walk through what happened and look into the week ahead. Pain It Is "While higher interest rates, slower growth,...

A Look Into the Markets August has not been kind to bonds and interest rates. Even though the Federal Reserve did not hold a meeting in August and is not slated to raise rates again until the end of September, long-term rates moved higher. Let's break down what happened and look into the week...

A Look Into the Markets For the past couple of weeks, interest rates remained within a range and haven't moved higher or lower, seemingly waiting for the next big market event. That event could be next week as Central Bankers around the globe and our Fed Chair Jerome Powell are set to speak...

A Look Into the Markets This past week an important reading on consumer inflation showed that we might have seen inflation peak in July. In response, the financial markets celebrated with stocks shooting higher and long-term rates ticking lower from the previous week's highs. The highly...

A Look Into the Markets This week home loan rates continued to gradually improve since the Fed hiked rates by .75% in both June and July. The elevated chance of a recession and the Fed hiking rates into the slowing economy has pushed rates to the best levels since April. Let's break down what...

A Look Into the Markets The Federal Reserve raised the Fed Funds Rate by .75% in a widely expected move while home loan rates continue to be well off the highest levels in June. Let's discuss what the Fed Chair Powell said in his press conference and what it means going forward. Boom The...

  A Look Into the Markets The quiet before the storm. This past week, Fed officials were literally "quiet" with no speeches ahead of next week's Fed Meeting where a .75% rate hike is widely expected. Let's discuss what will be an important week ahead. Another Big Fed...

A Look Into the Markets This past week we experienced a couple of soaring inflation numbers which has injected new uncertainty surrounding inflation peaks, Fed rate hikes and the likelihood of a recession. Let's discuss what happened and what to watch for in the coming weeks. Consumer Prices...

A Look Into the Markets This past week Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered his semi-annual testimony to Congress on Capitol Hill. Let's walk through what the Chair said and how the financial markets reacted as well. "At the Fed, we understand the hardship high inflation is...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, the Federal Reserve raised the Federal Funds Rate by .75%, the first such hike since 1994. Let's walk through what the Fed said and how the financial markets reacted heading into the weekend. "Clearly, today's 75 basis point increase is an...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, home loan rates increased slightly from the previous week as we are just a couple of days away before the next Fed Meeting. Let's walk through what happened and discuss what to look for in the week ahead. As we approach the highly anticipated Fed...

A Look Into the Markets Home loan rates increased slightly from the previous week as we are just a couple of weeks before the next Fed meeting. Let's walk through what happened and discuss what to look for in the week ahead. "As I will explain, this very tight labor market has implications...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, home loan rates improved slightly in response to growing fears of a recession. Let's walk through what happened and discuss what to look for in the week ahead. "What we need to see is inflation coming down in a clear and convincing way, and we're...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, home loan rates bounced around in a volatile fashion in response to more of the same...Fed speaks, inflation readings, and uncertainty. Let's walk through what happened and discuss what to look for in the week ahead. "Although the task is difficult,...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, the Federal Reserve hiked the Fed Fund Rate by .50%, the largest rate increase in 22 years. Let's discuss what other action the Fed took, how the market reacted and what to look for in the week ahead. "I would like to first speak to the American...

A Look Into the Markets This past week was a bit quiet as no Federal Reserve officials were talking to move the market. However, this changes next week, as we approach the highly anticipated FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) Meeting. Let's discuss what to look for as we wait on the Fed. This...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, home loan rates hit the highest levels in nearly a decade as inflation readings came in touching 40+ year peaks. Let's discuss what happened and what to watch for next week. Headline Consumer Inflation vs Core Consumer Inflation Interest rates...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, home loan rates touched the highest levels in three years in response to the same theme…inflation fears and forthcoming Fed rate hikes, and balance sheet reduction. Let's discuss what happened and what to watch for next week. "Given that...

A Look Into the Markets This past week, home loan rates improved from the worst levels in three years. Let's walk through what happened this week and talk about what to watch in the weeks ahead. 1) Ukraine/Russia Showing Optimistic Signals Early in the week, there was word that...

A Look Into the Markets Home loan rates ticked up to fresh three-year highs as a parade of Federal Reserve officials spoke throughout the week about the need to hike rates more aggressively to combat inflation. Let's walk through what happened this week and talk about the big reports coming...

A Look Into the Markets Interest rates hover near three-year highs as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the Federal Funds Rate by 0.25%. This was the first rate hike in three years. Let's break down what the Fed said in their Statement and press conference and look at what the...

A Look Into the Markets Interest rates ticked up this week, despite the ongoing and uncertain Russia/Ukraine war. Let's break down what happened this week as we prepare for an important Fed meeting next week. This is probably a good week to remind everyone that inflation is an economic...

A Look Into the Markets Interest rates retreated from 2019 peaks as the Ukraine invasion by Russia escalates and grows more uncertain. However, there were other big developments here at home that erased a good portion of the rate improvement. Let's break down what happened and what to look...

Mortgage Credit Certificate   The Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s (MSHDA) Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) is a federal tax credit issued in connection with the purchase of a home. This allows homebuyers to credit 20% of the annual mortgage interest paid against their...

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Thursday, December 6, 2017 that the maximum mortgage limits will be increased for loans across the country.  These new loan limits will take effect for FHA Case Numbers issued on or after January 1st, 2018. State of Michigan FHA Mortgage...