Scary. Home Mortgage rates could be edging closer to 5% by the end of 2014. 
By: Alan Aptheker Low mortgage rates have been a great incentive to buy a home. An even greater incentive is the threat of high mortgage rates. In October, the Fed will make a stealthy move that could hit you right in the mortgage payment.
Fed policy is really boring, but suffice it to say at least they've kept mortgage rates low by buying Mortgage Backed Securities. When the Fed buys these assets, the Fed gets fatter. It loans more money to banks. Banks get fatter. They loan more money to people like you and me. We buy things like houses.  
In short, the Fed feels the economy is getting strong enough to stand up on its own. But the Fed has three distinct…

Real estate market headed in the right direction. 
By: Alan Aptheker Nationally, as in Jacksonville and the rest of Florida, 1) existing home sales drop, 2) prices continue to rise. What does this mean? Buy. The National Association of Realtors forecasts the price of existing-home price will rise about of five to six percent this year — as much as $12,000 on a $200,000 home.   What do higher prices really mean? Three things:  

1. Accelerated buying, with opportunities being seized because timing is everything.
2. Existing homebuyers finding more equity on their home, and if their looking to move, more motivated than ever that they’ll get a great price.
3. Mortgage rates inching higher: According to Freddie Mac, the rate for the

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