Le Fleur de Lis Realty, LLC

Rates on conventional mortgage loans were essentially flat this week, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate for 30-year fixed mortgages didn’t move from last week’s record-low figure of 4.57 percent. Also, rates on 15-year fixed mortgages reached a new record low this week, falling slightly to 4.06 percent from 4.07 percent last ...

Anyone shopping for a new mortgage these days should shop around, says Cameron Findlay, chief economist for LendingTree. Although mortgage rates look astoundingly low, the spread between what the bank receives and what it pays investors has actually increased, giving banks more room to negotiate. Applicants with good credit scores should ...

Residential mortgage bonds backed by the U.S. government have become a safe haven for investors again, helping to drive mortgage rates to record lows. The average interest on 30-year fixed loans fell this week to 4.58 percent, down from 4.69 percent a week ago, reports Freddie Mac. Relatively few home owners are refinancing at the bargain ...

Outdoor kitchens continue to be one of the hottest trends in home décor, but not all of them are created equal. Here are some things to consider when evaluating the safety and durability of this attractive yet vulnerable feature: • Is there adequate ventilation? Extensive outdoor cooking spaces should be carefully designed to keep ...

After a close brush with a deadline that could have impacted tens of thousands of home buyers, the U.S. Congress last night passed an extension of the Home buyer Tax Credit closing deadline. The extension is included in the Home Buyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623) and will prevent as many as 180,000 home buyers from losing their ...

Existing-home sales remained at elevated levels in May on buyer response to the tax credit, characterized by stabilizing home prices and historically low mortgage interest rates, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Gains in the West and South were offset by a decline in the Northeast; the Midwest was steady. Existing-home ...

More than 1,200 prison inmates, including 241 serving life sentences, applied for and received first-time hom ebuyer tax credits, according to a Treasury Department report released Wednesday. Treasury said many filed multiple claims, even some outside the alloted time persiod, and received help from paid preparers. Altogether they fraudulently ...

Average interest on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to an all-time low of 4.69 percent this week, down from 4.75 percent a week ago, reports Freddie Mac. Although rates have held below 5 percent since early May, Michael Fratantoni of the Mortgage Bankers Association notes that demand for purchase loans has fallen in six of the past seven weeks and ...

The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to extend the home buyer tax credit closing deadline to Sept. 30, giving an estimated 180,000 buyers who met the contract deadline of April 30 extra time to close the transaction. The extension was added to a bill to pay for jobless benefits. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates that one-third of ...

Fiserv on Monday released a report that analyzed housing financial data from fourth quarter 2009, which seemed to suggest real estate could be improving. “Optimism that a sustainable economic recovery is underway and is driving increases in home prices across many U.S. metro areas. More and more, consumers have confidence that buying a ...