Posted on 07 September 2009
Tags: borrower, customer, dollars, Fannie Mae, Federal Reserve, financial history, freddie Mac, funded, government, homebuyers, homes, lender, Loans, Mortgage, mortgage markets, policymakers, Social security, taxpayer
In the past, it was possible for virtually everyone to get a few hundred thousand dollars to buy a home, as private lenders flooded the market, aggressively trying to get customers. The borrowers thus got what they wanted, i.e. the mortgage no matter what their financial history was.

However, things are not the same not any more. Currently, only one lender remains, which is the federal government. In order to rescue the firms from the financial crisis, the government took control a year ago of the two largest mortgage finance companies in the world, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Posted on 21 August 2009
Tags: buyers, delinquencies, economists, Existing Home, falling prices, foreclosures, homeowners, homes, July, June, lower interest rates, market, median sale price of homes, National Association of Realtors, properties, sales, short sales, tax credit
Taking advantage of falling prices, buyers have stormed back to the market, surging the sales of previously owned homes in July, due to lower interest rates and a tax credit for first-time homeowners.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the number of existing home sales rose 7.2 percent in July from June, whereas the sales of condos and single-family homes each rose for the month. It was the largest monthly gain since the group began tracking existing home sales in 1999.
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