Paul Gowen's (willamette) Blog

By just about any statistical measure, real estate sales in the Portland real estate market are way up. Here are the numbers… 1,799 homes sold in Portland during the month of March, a 52% increase from March of 2009. Pending sales are up 46%, and new listings are up 35%. The numbers are eye poppi...

If I told you that the floods that destroyed New Orleans in 2005 were the result of a solitary homeowner who left his lawn sprinkler on too long, you'd laugh out loud. Well, that's essentially the argument some are making about the housing crisis. They are laying the blame for it on the Community...

So the latest thing out of the nation's capital is a proposal that would limit the salary of bank head honchos...if the bank they work for is taking Federal bailout money. And you might be surprised where newly elected President Obama is finding support for this plan. More on that later. The cap ...

Spending all day pouring through client's income, assets, credit and the other items that make up a mortgage application can be pretty dry. We are all defined, at times, in this business by numbers. Credit scores, interest rates, home value, income, mortgage amount, mortgage payment. And it is ea...

It's the Wall Street Journal's lead story this morning. "Lending Drops at Big U.S. Banks."That's right. As we've talked about here in this space, a lot of the recipients of bailout, the so called TARP, funds, have gathered the cash to their bosoms and don't plan to let go anytime soon. 10 of the ...

I've talked with a lot of consumers here in the Portland area who tell me they are waiting. Waiting to refinance or purchase property. What are the waiting for? A better economy? Lower real estate prices? A sign from a higher power?Turns out the answers are no, no and no. They are waiting for the...

So you read that the Federal Reserve Board cut rates, lowering their "target" rate to between 0 and .25%. Normally, a Fed cut can be bad for mortgage rates, because Fed rates are overnight and mortgages are, well, longer. But Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) rallied. Why? Because in it's announce...

Folks, I try not to get strident. I try not to YELL! I try to remain calm. No more my friends. There is a move, among certain circles, to lay blame for the credit crunch and the $700 billion bailout at the feet of African Americans and other minorities who have been given home loans over the past...

Home buyers and holders of existing mortgages were the first beneficiaries of the Federal Government's decision to take over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this past weekend. To give you the details...Before the decision was announced the so called FNMA 5.50% coupon closed at $99.40. ...