If you haven’t seen this - you need to look at it… it’s fascinating….

http://www2.newyorkfed.org/mortgagemaps/

It’s an interactive map of the mortgage markets across the United States. You can punch in your zip-code and have access to the Fed’s data on housing conditions, foreclosure activity, % of ARM loans, % that will reset, etc.

What struck me the most about this was the average LTV - and then thinking about the market conditions. As I popped around the states - I found many were at or near 80%-85% LTV ratios. Essentially, what that says to me is that if you have a house - you’re probably not all that interested in selling it at the moment given the fees you’ll incur selling it. If your 80% LTV - you’ll pay 7% in brokers fees (thus reducing your net to 13%) and another 3% in various incentives such as paying for fixes, points at closing, etc. So most people will only get 10% of their house back if they list - that presumes it sells at value.

Is it any wonder then the market is stagnant and/or falling? I don’t think so… this little tool was pretty powerful in revealing it…

I highly recommend checking it out… it’s amazing…