If you're a builder who wants to get your phones ringing, try this trick: flaunt a mortgage rate beginning with '2'. And then brace for the hefty buydown. For brokers or retail mortgage reps, this strategy typically isn't possible. For developers clearing tens or

Starting August 1, first-time buyers eyeing new construction get a new trick to trim their payments: 30-year insured amortizations. But this magic has a price. Bumping the standard 25-year amortization up to 30 years jacks up the default insurance premium by 75 bps—assuming a high-ratio mortgage. On a 5%

5% cashback mortgages are the Rodney Dangerfield of lending—they get no respect. Critics pan their higher rates and the fact borrowers have to pay back the cash rebate (typically pro-rata) if they break the mortgage early. Yet, for the right borrower, these maligned products are a sleeper hit. In