Stocks are down, so are interest rates.

For those interested in legislation concerning banks, there is a new bill sponsored by Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and David Vitter (R-LA).  It is called Terminating Bailouts for Taxpayers Fairness Act. "The bill focuses on three key points: loosening the capital requirements for community banks, new regulatory enticements for community banks and raising the highest asset bucket threshold from $400 billion to $500 billion, an article from Compass Point said."  This would raise asset requirements for the largest banks to 8%.  They don't think they have the votes to pass it, but have you noticed our community banks are disappearing while the largest banks are growning larger.  I think I will write my senators and recommend they vote to pass this. 
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Becky Crawford, agent at Prudential, has a blog that is just the right mix of fluff and real estate news.  She has a good bit of advertizing for her company, but the blog is terrific.  If you don't live in Atlanta, it won't be as valuable.  Look for a good blog or two for your area.  If  you don't have one, consider being the go-to person for your state or local blog.  Cudos to Becky C.
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Sonja Bullard also has a blog.  She is an MLO at Angle Oak.  I would like to see blogs from the builders in the Atlanta area.  Information is power.  Let's help each other succeed in our businesses.  Subscribe to the blogs you find most helpful.
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Pintrest is the new Facebook for advertizing.  Use the Pin it button to link to your site.  Remember hashtags and key words are very important.
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The nation wide real estate market is starting to moderate.  Still, there are cities in which are prices are rising rapidly.  They are, "According to Zillow, five markets it covers saw a year-over-year appreciation of more than 20%: Phoenix (up 24%), Las Vegas (up 22.3%), San Jose (up 22.1%), San Francisco (up 21.4%) and Sacramento (up 20.1%)." 

"The national housing market has rebounded strongly over the past year. But the sometimes dramatic home value run-ups experienced during these months were never expected to be sustainable, and recent slowdowns are indicative of a market that is slowly finding its natural level," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries.

"Looking forward, we expect annual home value appreciation to continue to slow, as more inventory comes up for sale," Humphries added.-- mhopkins@housingwire.com

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"The housing market is now being driven by local economic fundamentals," said Denk. "Energy states and those driven by agricultural commodities are seeing their housing markets turn around the fastest."

States that fell the farthest during the downturn — California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona — bottomed out as much as 10% to 20% of normal production, but are showing indications of a turnaround. In many of these markets, home prices are returning to normal and near-normal levels. This is due, in large, to an easing of foreclosure rates.

By the end of 2014, the top 20% of states will be at or above 87% of normal production, compared to the bottom 20%, which will still be below 60%, according to Denk. --HousingWire
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The 30-year rate in Freddie’s survey was down a basis point from the previous week at 3.4%, the average 15-year rate was down three basis points at 2.61%, the average five-year hybrid Treasury rate was down two basis points at 2.58% and the average one-year Treasury ARM rate was down one basis point at 2.62%.

Average points during the week ending April 25 were 0.8 of a point for 30-year loans, 0.7 of a point for 15-year loans, 0.5 of a point for five-year Treasury hybrid loans and 0.3 of a point for one-year Treasury ARMs.

A year ago, the weekly average for 30-year loans was 3.88%, the weekly average for 15-year loans was 3.12%, the weekly average for five-year Treasury hybrids was 2.85% and the weekly average for one-year Treasury ARMs was 2.74%.

--- Bonnie Sinnock in Origination News
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When you're faced with temptation, move forward with a decision to just do the right thing. When you know someone is hurting as a result of your actions, help them to heal by just doing the right thing. When someone is upset with you and it's extremely hard to move pass your ego to create resolve, remember to just do the right thing.
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A week or two ago I asked why the  building supplies were so expensive.  Here is an answer: 

Building-material manufacturers “are raising prices dramatically, and once they’re convinced that these prices are going to stick, they’ll start reinvesting in those plants,” helping ease supply constraints, said John Burns, chairman of Irvine, California-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which provides research to developers, construction-product manufacturers and investors. “Those can take a year to get up and running.”