The following is a guest blog from Jeffrey Heckman and Joanne Rotella with Shelter Mortgage Company and does not necessarily reflect the views of GeorgiaMoves.com

1. Of course, the big news last week was our country’s first partial government shutdown in 17 years! Surprisingly, though, the impact on the mortgage business has been minimal. The only big loss thus far has been the USDA rural housing program. Be aware that the longer the shutdown drags out, though, the more problems and delays will begin to occur.

2. The government shutdown’s impact on mortgage rates has also been minimal mostly because U.S. Government economic reports are not being released. The markets will be less volatile with less news being reported.

3. The first Friday of each month is usually notable for the reaction to the Employment report but, obviously, there was no report released on Friday. Investors were forced to adjust

…

The following is a guest blog from Jeffrey Heckman and Joanne Rotella with Shelter Mortgage Company and does not necessarily reflect the views of GeorgiaMoves.com

1. Mortgage rates pushed a little higher last week as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July 31 meeting were released and confirmed investor expectations that the Fed will almost certainly begin to “taper” its bond purchase program in September or October.

2. Mortgage rates then reversed course and fell back when the July New Home Sales report caught investors by surprise and showed a 13% drop from June.

3. Several Fed officials have expressed concerns that rising rates will slow the pace of economic growth. The decline in New Home Sales provides clear support that these concerns are justified. The question is whether the data will be enough to cause the Fed to hold off longer before tapering its bond purchases. Economic data released

…

Georgia’s Most Expensive Homes for Sale

As of August 13 2013, there are over 1,000 active listings in metro Atlanta over $1,000,000 according to the First Multiple Listing Service. To preview the most expensive homes in the metro Atlanta area, click here.

The following is a guest blog from Jeffrey Heckman and Joanne Rotella with Shelter Mortgage Company and does not necessarily reflect the views of GeorgiaMoves.com

The Shelter Six

1. The recent mortgage rate surge began following a stronger than expected Employment Report released on the third of May. The logic behind the rise was that when the job market strengthens, the Fed no longer needs to manipulate rates down to such a low level.

2. Rates continued to rise following comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on June 19 indicating that the Fed would probably stop buying bonds sooner than expected. This bond buying program has been the #1 reason rates have been so low for so long.  Since the June 19 meeting, there has been a great deal of uncertainty about when the Fed will actually begin to tighten monetary policy. The result has been tremendous volatility with rates

…

FSBO vs Real Estate Agent

With metro Atlanta homes selling faster than Gladys Knight’s chicken and waffles, purchasers thinking of buying and more notably, owners thinking of selling, might be wondering if hiring a real estate agent is a necessity. Nowadays, home buyers can find homes on the internet, set up their own appointments to preview properties and submit pre-printed offers that can be obtained online or at the local office supply store. Likewise, sellers can get a for sale by owner sign, post their property on a number of FSBO marketing web sites and negotiate directly with interested parties. On the face of it, it seems that both parties may benefit by excluding third party interlopers from the deal.

…