Scott Fowler's (sfowler) Blog

Each month, University of Michigan researcher survey the U.S. population about their thoughts on the economy -- is it improving, it is worsening, is it staying the same.  May's consumer confidence survey registered it's lowest reading since 1980. Given the recent headlines, that shouldn't be surp...

A "Housing Start" is a new home on which construction has commenced and in May, Housing Starts fell to a 17-year low nationally. At first glance, this may seem like a negative for the already-battered U.S. housing market. It's not.  Falling Housing Starts reflects the broader real estate market a...

Each month, University of Michigan researcher survey the U.S. population about their thoughts on the economy -- is it improving, it is worsening, is it staying the same.  May's consumer confidence survey registered it's lowest reading since 1980. Given the recent headlines, that shouldn't be surp...

RealtyTrac released its most recent foreclosure statistics and if you only read the headlines, you think the entire country was on the verge of losing its homes. The underlying data tells a different story, however. More than half of the country's foreclosure activity in May 2008 was tied to just...

When homeowners borrow more than 80 percent of a home's value, mortgage lenders often require a corresponding insurance policy called Private Mortgage Insurance. PMI provides a cash payment to lenders in the event of a homeowner defaults. But because PMI policies are designed for high LTV loans o...

The Federal Reserve is stumping hard on inflation this week, creating speculation that Fed Funds Rate hikes may be in store for later this month.  This is a counter-intuitive development because increases to the Fed Funds Rate are typically associated with periods of rapid economic expansion.  La...

Several years ago, when homes sometimes sold within hours, prospective buyers often drafted "Dear Seller" letters, an accompanying personal note to help purchase offers stand out in a multiple-bid situation. Today, some buyers are writing a different kind of letter to win a seller's favor -- a le...

On the first Friday of every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report. More commonly called the "jobs report", today's 2-page analysis of May 2008 shows that the economy shed jobs and that unemployment surged. This is terrific news for home affordability. That m...

  Mortgage rates are a big deal when you're buying a home.  With even the slighest uptick in rates, 30 years of mortgage payments can get substantially more expensive and one of the most substantial threats to mortgage rates is an economic event called inflation.  Inflation's influence on mortgag...

When a home buyer is gifted cash for a downpayment, there is a right way and a wrong way to receive the funds. The right way includes: Completing an acceptable gift letter Documenting the withdrawal of funds with receipts Documenting the deposit of funds with receipts The wrong way is to ignore ...