South Carolina Mortgages & Home Loans - SC Mortgage / South Carolina Real Estate - SC Real Estate

Have you ever had a credit card company suddenly lower your credit line in spite of your sterling payment record?

Have you wondered how every mortgage lender in the world is aware that you have been shopping for a good refinance opportunity? Or why your current mortgagee, the company that didn't spell your name right on last month's statement, is suddenly your new best friend?

The answer is credit "triggers," a highly profitable sideline for all of the big three credit collection bureaus...

For the fifth straight week Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rates fell from the previous week's level. During the past week which ended August 24 all four the of the mortgage products tracked by Freddie Mac reached levels last seen at some point this past April. The Mortgage Bankers Association, however, found rates moving in the opposite direction.

After a parade of seven witnesses (plus Full Committee Chair Michael Oxley) who appeared before the House Banking Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity to testify about alleged limitations on competition from Internet competitors by the National Association of Realtors and its affiliated multiple listing services, the defense got a few words in edgewise.

...Both Lewis and Ms. Vredeycogd-Combs cited recent studies that indicate commissions have been trending down - going from 6.1 percent in 1991 to the current average of 5.1 percent. That is not a one percent decrease, Lewis said, but a 16 percent decrease, a level not experienced by many industries over the same period of time.

The National Association of Realtors issued its monthly report on sales of existing houses on Wednesday, August 23 and one would think they were reviewing the DVD of "Chicken Little."

The networks didn't necessarily lead with the story but it was up there in coverage with the general tone being "Hi, ho, the housing boom is dead." Whoops, wrong movie.

ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has just issued the results or a large scale study of the potential impact of upcoming adjustments to adjustable rate mortgages. ACORN bills itself as the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate-income families. It advocates for better housing, more investment by banks and government in lower-income communities, and better schools.

It's that time again. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Census Department have released their monthly reports on the state of the new home industry in consumer terms and the attitude of those who make their living by building the homes.

So how are builders feeling about the future? Not so good according to the Wells Fargo/NAHB Home Builders Housing Market Index (HMI) for August. The index just hit its lowest level since...

In addition to the three witnesses from government agencies, Department of Justice, Government Accountability Office, and Federal Trade Commission who testified in general that real estate lacks real competitiveness, there were four other witnesses who testified against the industry. All four definitely have a dog in this fight.

Remember our old friend Michael G. Oxley?

Recently the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held hearings entitled "The Changing Real Estate Market." We will try our best to report on this hearing in a fair and balanced way. Well, actually we will try but may not totally succeed.