With Spring in full bloom, homeowners are taking advantage of the weather and prepping their outdoor living spaces for the summer season. One main hangout for many is the deck.  There are a handful of different low-cost deck trends for 2012, and homeowners can freshen up their existing space without breaking the bank by highlighting a few key elements. According to a survey by Trex Company, a composite deck company, 83 percent of Americans favor low-maintenance home improvement projects—and who can blame them? The following updates are as easy as they are wallet-friendly.

Rock the railing.  The railing is often the first thing guests see when they take a look at your deck from the yard or street view, so it’s important to realize that this is more than

So things are good for mortgage rates, again.  The Producer Price Index (inflation measurement – inflation is bad for interest rates) came in slightly below expectations, showing very little inflation.  One of these days, the tide will shift but today that’s good news.  Yesterday’s unemployment claims came in right at the consensus estimate and the previous period’s estimate was revised up but only by a minor amount so no surprises.  Greece appears ready to pull out of the EU and the speculation is that Spain will follow.  How does that affect us, you may ask?  Europe is nervous again with speculation that Greece may fail and the entire EU is looking rather fragile.  Uncertainty is bad in the investment world so investors are flooding to the more stable

Q: Should I lock in the mortgage rate?

A: Because the interest rate market fluctuates constantly and is subject to quick movements without notice, locking in a mortgage rate with a lender certainly protects you from the time your lock is confirmed to the day it expires.
 
Lock-ins make sense in a rapidly-rising rate environment or when borrowers expect rates to climb during the next 30 - 60 days, which is typically the amount of time a lock-in remains in effect.
 
A lock-in given at the time of application is useful because it may take the lender several weeks to prepare a loan application.  These days, however, automated loan practices have cut the time quite a bit.
 
Lock-ins are not necessarily free.  Some lenders require you to pay a lock-in fee to

We’re seeing the bellwether 10 year bond bump against the record low yields of September as the speculation is that this afternoon’s US bond auction will receive huge demand.  As Europe’s woes escalate, with Greece saying they won’t follow the austerity terms of their bailout, the Greek President being unable to form a coalition government, Spain showing more potential real estate loan  problems and France electing a new President who ran on a platform of deficit spending, money flooded into US Bonds.  Later when it was announced that Greece will receive 5.2 Billion Euros of aide question and the PM of Portugal and Spain recommitting to austerity programs, the rush to US bonds cooled slightly.  For US mortgages, it means rates are below 4%, a very few

What can home buyers expect to face this selling season? An improving housing market has made it a different picture in many areas compared to recent years, housing experts say. A recent article at Bankrate.com notes some of the following trends taking shape in the housing market this spring:
Summer – and therefore the selling/buying season – is upon us and with the housing market already showing signs of improvements, we just might see something this season that we haven’t in a while: activity.
According to Bankrate.com, here are the trends to look out for as the warm weather grows warmer:

• Fierce competition. With falling home values and mortgage rates at record lows, housing affordability is at record highs, and more buyers  jumping off the fence of

If March’s sales are any indication, the Boulder-area real estate market is showing signs of life once again.

Boulder-area single-family home sales for the month hit 270, a 27 percent increase compared with the 212 units that sold in March 2011. And 88 townhomes and condominiums sold in March compared with 75 sales a year ago, an increase of 17 percent.

“I believe this is the best month we’ve had in a couple of years,” says Ken Hotard, senior vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor Association. “I think you’re seeing signs that credit is easing a bit.”

For the first three months of 2012, 622 single-family homes sold compared with the 515 homes that sold in the first quarter of 2011, a 21 percent increase. The Boulder-area

Q: Does the government offer assistance with home improvements?

A: Yes. Two very popular programs offered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) include the Title 1 Home Improvement Loan and the Section 203(k) Program. In the first program, HUD insures the loan up to $25,000 for a single-family house to cover alterations, repairs, and site improvements. The latter program, which also insures mortgage loans, is HUD’s primary program for the rehabilitation and repair of single-family homes. Loans are also available from the Department of Veteran Affairs to buy, build, or improve a home, as well as refinance an existing loan at interest rates that are usually lower than that on conventional loans. The Rural Housing Repair and

Is there something funny going on in Washington with the economic news? Today may make you wonder. 

Today’s employment numbers came out and they were much softer than expected, pretty much confirming the ADP report earlier in the week.  Only 130,000 jobs were created, well off the expected 165 - 178,000 and only slightly above the ADP number of 122,000.  These April numbers follow a very disappointing initial March report of 120,000 that has been revised upward to 154,000 but a strong February report of 240,000 – revised up to 259,000.  Still we’ve still seen weak job creation numbers in March and April coupled with higher than expected new unemployment claims.  Yet, the unemployment rate dropped again to 8.1%.  Just to be clear, 388,000 people filed

National home values posted their biggest monthly gain in six years from February to March, according to Zillow’s first quarter Real Estate Market Reports, which came out April 24.

And Zillow reports that nineteen of the 30 biggest metro housing markets in the nation have either hit bottom or will be the end of 2012, Zillow forecasts.

The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) rose 0.5 percent from February to March, marking the largest monthly increase since May 2006 – before home values peaked.

Zillow reports that it expects some markets to experience substantial home value gains over the next 12 months.

“For people who have been waiting to time their home purchases close to the market bottom, it’s time to start shopping,” advises Stan Humphries, Zillow's

It appears the recovery isn’t as strong as it appeared but many investors aren’t willing to accept that quite yet.  Last Thursday’s jobless claims numbers reflected a minor but still upward revision of the previous week and a significant increase in new claims.  The weekly claims were 8000 above the top of the estimates, 13,000 above the consensus and equivalent to the upwardly revised prior week’s numbers.  These are the highest numbers of 2012.

The weak  jobless claims numbers were followed Friday by a disappointing GDP number reflecting a significant slowdown in the recovery.  Government spending dropped and so did the GDP number.  It came in at 2.2%,  below the conservative 2.5% estimate and way below the 4th quarter’s 3% growth.

Then, to top off