Flooding caused by the torrential rain that's swept over the Northeast in recent days will deal a severe blow to the region's homeowners, most of whom have no flood insurance.

Homeowners' insurance typically covers rain that comes in from the top or side of a house — not through basements. In most cases, only homeowners who've bought flood policies from the federal government are insured against floodwaters that seep in through the bottom of the home.

Get the Full Story here…

Mortgage applications fell last week as interest rates hit their highest level in more than four years, an industry trade group said today.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended June 23 decreased 6.7% to 529.6 from the previous week.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.86%, up 0.13 percentage point, its highest level since April 12, 2002, when it reached 6.92%.

Fixed 15-year mortgage rates averaged 6.49%, up from 6.37%. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) increased to 6.36% from 6.22%.

Complete details here…

The tell-tale sign of a stagnating real estate market? When homes for sale start lingering - and that's exactly what real estate brokers and other industry watchers say they're seeing now.

The National Association of Realtors does not maintain national time-on-market figures. But inventory - the number of homes for sale - spiked 37 percent for the 12 months through April 30, the most recent data available.

At the same time, the rate of sales has slowed, so that there is now 6 months worth of supply, up from 4.1 months a year earlier.

All that supply means homes are sitting around longer and that sellers are asking more than buyers are willing to pay — an indication that prices may have to come down.

Could this be just what home buyers need?  Could we be seeing the beginning of a real "buyer's market?"

Read the complete story here…