Fannie Mae now allows 5% down payment on 2-4 unit properties... It was recently 15% - 25% down.

Fannie Mae has lowered their required down payment for owner-occupied, multi-family (2-4 unit) properties from 15% - 25% to 5%. This means you can buy a property with 5% down, live in one unit, and rent out the other 1-3 units.

The new policy took effect on November 18, 2023 and applies to several Fannie Mae mortgage types including conventional and renovation loans.

If you’ve wanted to buy a home but haven’t been able to figure out how to save enough for a down payment and meet your monthly mortgage payment requirements, your time has come.

Source: Crosscountry Mortgage

The median price of an existing home sold in October has increased 3.4% from October 2022.

The national median price of an existing home sold in October was $391,800, an increase of 3.4% from a year ago ($378,800). Prices rose in all regions of the country.

These annual price increases have been getting larger for four straight months.

Roughly 28% of homes sold above list price.

Source: CNBC

Manny Pacquiao's real estate shake-up: Watch the video!

Manny Pacquiao... what happened here?

This Mediterranean-style home has 5 bed/5.5 bath and 4,273 sq. ft. of living space.

The 2-story home features an open layout, high ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, a pool, and a spa.

Asking price: $4,500,000

Selling price: $2,000,000

Cooler monthly inflation report pushes mortgage rates even lower

Mortgage rates fell again today, 11/14/23. The average rate on the 30-year mortgage fell 18 basis points to 7.40%.

The bond market rallied after government data showed inflation was lower than expected.

Wall Street has started to lower its expectations for more Federal Reserve rate hikes ahead.

Source: Diana Olick from CNBC

I predict the Fed will raise rates tomorrow by 25 bases point

Tomorrow the Federal Reserve will announce if they will or will not raise short-term rates. My prediction is that we will see them raise rates another 25 bases point: that’s a fancy way of saying .25 of 1%.

How do I know?

I have been tracking a market indicator called the Fed Funds Futures. That indicator shows what investors are betting on. It currently shows a 98% probability that we will see a 25 bases point raise... so I'm going with that.

Do you think they will raise the rates tomorrow?

2nd historic fed rate hike unlikely to ‘further damage’ mortgage borrowers

Here is a little good news on this bad economic day....

The Federal Reserve made another aggressive move Wednesday, raising its benchmark rate by three-quarters of a percentage point for the second time this year to try and tame the economy. However, higher mortgage rates may not necessarily be on the horizon as a result, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®.

“This is unlikely to do any further damage to mortgage rates,” Yun says.

“It is possible that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage may settle down at 5.5% to 6% for the remainder of the year,” Yun says.