Kevin Michelson's (kmichelson) Blog

Larry Kudlow is joining fellow CNBC personality Jim Carmer in discussing housing very favorably this week. Cramer stated that it was now time to buy a house  and Kudlow is taking mainstream media to task for remaining pessimistic while there is strong data to support the slowdown's end is near if...

Let's face it, CNBC can be pretty boring for most folks. But interesting personalities like Jim Cramer take the relatively mundane topic like stock performance and economic conditions, mix it with an exciting "ESPN SportsCenter-esque" format and it is tolerable. And it works, Cramer has tons of f...

Here we are on the dawn of the first trading day following IndyMac's collapse and the Federal Government's prop up of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and I must say that I'm not sure how the market will react. First, Fannie and Freddie have always had the implied backing of the Federal Government. And...

The State of Florida is suing Countrywide for misreprenting loan programs and aggressively approving subprime borrowers. "It is unthinkable that a company would try to take advantage of someone's dream of homeownership," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said in a statement. I was taught in ...

Diane (I've Never Seen Any Good News in the Market) Olnick is reporting that sales nationwide are holding at just under 5 million homes in May which is good, but that 33% of the homes selling are those either in foreclosure or approaching foreclosure. She quotes "the Realtors" as saying 33% are d...

With Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) markets in turmoil for about a year now, the new emphasis for loans with a higher Loan to Value than 90%. Why is this? The answer lies with Ginnie Mae (GNMA) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's cousin specializing on Government loans - and the way their loans are ...

CNBC is reporting today that the last 3 weeks' spike in interest rates has caused some buyers to get off the sidelines, go to contract and lock in rates before they go even higher. The fear of loss is an interesting thing. Buyers were fearful of making easy money just 3 & 4 years ago so they ofte...

The market is still commanding a premium on Mortgage Backed Securities relative to 4 weeks ago - the talk of inflation has investors on the sideline forcing rates up. However, this morning we are enjoying the lowest rate of the last 2 weeks. We aren't back to the mid-5's but it looks like we're g...

Today the Tennessean is reporting about the increased and unusual incentives being offered by sellers. (see the link below) One builder is offering a car or a trip or a year's tuition to Vanderbilt. Sounds great! But buyers need to be aware that such incentives will likely reduce the amount that ...

Changes to FHA Mortgage Insurance are right around the corner. Please get your clients to application BEFORE July 14th in order to enjoy the current 1.5% Upfront Premium and .5% Monthly for all borrowers. After July 14th, FHA will istitute a risked based Mortgage Insurance schedule - outlined bel...