The Federal Reserve released its March 15 meeting minutes Tuesday. The notes revealed a Federal Reserve split between optimism and caution for the U.S. economy.

The minutes’ official name is “Fed Minutes”. It’s a periodic publication, published 3 weeks after each meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. The FOMC meets 8 times annually, so the Fed Minutes is published 8 times annually, too.

The Fed Minutes is similar to the meeting minutes released after a condo board gets together, or after a meeting of the Board of Directors at a large corporation. The minutes give a detailed account of the important conversations and debates that occurred among the attendees.

At the Federal Reserve, those conversations are deep and, as such, the minutes are long; much longer than the more well-known, post-meeting press release anyway.

Whereas the press release is measured in paragraphs, the minutes are measured in pages.

Here is some of what the Fed discussed last month:

• On inflation : Pressures are rising, but largely because of food costs and oil costs.
• On housing : The market remains “depressed” with large inventory and weak demand.
• On stimulus : The Fed will keep its $600 billion bond plan in place.

In addition, there was talk about ending the Federal Reserve’s accommodative monetary policy (i.e. the near-zero percent Fed Funds Rate). The FOMC’s voting members unanimously elected to leave the Fed Funds Rate near 0.000 percent last month, but there was talk of raising the benchmark rate later this year.

Conforming and FHA mortgage rates in Mesa are mostly unchanged since the Fed Minutes release.

Homebuilders are optimistic about the housing market this spring, relative to recent months.

According to the monthly Housing Market Index as published by the National Association of Homebuilders, after 4 straight months of reading 16, March homebuilder confidence ticked 1 point higher to 17.

It’s the highest confidence reading in 10 months.

A value of 50 or better indicates “favorable conditions” for home builders; with more builders viewing sales conditions as “good” than “poor”.

HMI hasn’t read higher than 50 since April 2006.

Regionally, the Housing Market Index showed mixed results. Confidence fell 1 point in the Northeast, held firm in the Midwest, and rose in the Southeast and West regions by 2 points and 4 points, respectively.

As an index, the monthly survey is actually a composite of three separate homebuilder surveys — a report on single-family sales; a report on current buyer foot traffic; and a projection for single family sales in the next 6 months.

March’s HMI breakdown shows that builders expect sales to be brisk over the next few months. Projected Single-Family Sales is running at its highest level since May 2010 — right as the $8,000 federal homebuyer tax credit was ending.

• Single-Family Sales : 17 (Unchanged from February)
• Buyer Foot Traffic : 12 (Unchanged from January)
• Projected Single-Family Sales : 27 (+2 from February)

For home buyers in Phoenix and across the country , the March Housing Market Index may signal the end of “builder discounts” and free upgrades. As home sales increase, builders are often less likely to make concessions.

In conjuction with rising mortgage rates and new, mandatory loan costs, buying a newly-built home may never be as inexpensive as it is right now.

If you expect to buy a newly-built home this year, consider moving up your time frame. The longer you wait, the more it may cost you.

As mortgage lenders tighten approval standards in AZ and nationwide, the importance of a good credit score is rising. Credit scores not only make the difference between a mortgage approval and mortgage turn-down, but they also play a large role in determining your actual mortgage note rate.

In the 3-minute piece, the NBC Today Show talks about 7 ways that homebuyers ruin their credit — often by accident. Some of the highlighted mistakes include:

• Closing open credit cards
• Making appliance buys on credit prior to closing
• Asking creditors to lower credit balances prior to closing

In general, a 740 FICO will insulate a borrower from the higher costs and/or rates associated with low credit scores. Below 740, though, every 20 points adds to the damage. Watch the video and apply what you can to your own situation. The more you know, the more you can save.

With gas prices up 37% nationally since this time last year, Americans have grown accustomed to driving a little bit further just to find a “gas bargain”.

But, is it worth it?

Based on today’s national average gas price of $3.00 and assuming a 15-gallon fill-up and a 20 miles-per-gallon vehicle, a car owner would need to see 1 cent savings per gallon at the pump for each extra mile driven in search of better gas prices.

Broken down:

If gas costs $3.00 per gallon and the car gets 20 miles per gallon, it costs 15 cents/mile to drive the car.

If the car fills up with 15 gallons, a one-penny savings per gallon would yield 15 cents in savings.

15 cents is the same amount of money it cost to drive the extra mile to the “cheaper” gas.

This isn’t an absolute, of course. The one-penny-per-mile rule varies according to several factors:

1. The gas mileage of your vehicle: The worse your car’s gas efficiency, the fewer miles you should drive to find less expensive gas.
2. The savings at the pump: The greater the savings at the pump, the more miles you should drive to fill-up at that gas station
3. How much fuel you plan to buy: The larger your car’s gas tank, the farther you should drive for savings.

The best way to save money on gasoline is to curb automobile usage and follow good driving practices. Then, trying using gasbuddy.com to find inexpensive fueling options in your area, listed by zip code.

Foreclosure filings rose close to 20 percent nationwide last month versus February, according to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac.com, and for the 13th straight month, total filings topped 300,000.

In addition, bank repossessions reached an all-time, quarterly record. Through the first three months of 2010, banks reclaimed more than 257,000 homes.

Nonetheless, 4 states dominated foreclosure activity nationwide.

California, Florida, Arizona and Georgia accounted for more than half of all bank repossessions. It’s a disproportionate distribution of foreclosures. Together, the 4 states represent just 23 percent of the overall U.S. population.

The RealtyTrac report revealed some other interesting statistics, too.

• Foreclosure activity was up in 40 out of 50 states last month
• Bank repossessions rose 9 percent versus the same quarter last year
• For the 13th straight quarter, Nevada topped the state foreclosure rate

Regardless of where you’re buying, foreclosures and REO are making a profound impact on pricing and product. Distressed homes are 35 percent of the overall resale market.

There’s excellent value in foreclosures out there if you know where to look, but keep these points in mind:

1. Buying bank-owned homes can take 120 days to close or more. Be flexible.
2. Foreclosures aren’t always listed for sale publicly. Some inventory is privately-held.
3. Bank-owned homes are often sold “as is”. There may be defects that render the homes mortgage-ineligible.

The REO market can be different from the traditional “existing home” market.  Therefore, if you have an interest in buying REO, be sure to talk with an experienced real estate agent first.

A “new home” is a home that is newly-constructed; not bought as a resale.

In a lackluster showing, New Home Sales dropped 11 percent in November, falling to the lowest levels since April. Furthermore, the all-important “months of supply” climbed by a half-month to 7.9.

The press pounced on the figures and if you only read the headlines, you’d think that housing had cratered. Some of the angles were quite bold, even:

• Weak U.S. Home Sales Show Recovery’s Shakiness (Reuters)
• New Home Sales Plunge In November (CNNMoney.com)
• Housing Forecast : Off Life Support, Still In Critical Care (CBS News)

These headlines, although technically accurate, only tell half the story, however. The other half relates to November 30′s role as the original First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit ending date.

See, different from home resales, when a contract is written on a newly-built home, the home is rarely finished. According to the Census Bureau, just 1 in 4 new homes are sold “move-in ready”. The other 3 of 4 are in various stages of construction when a buyer signs on the dotted line.

Some have yet to break ground, even.

Regardless, it’s at this date of signing that the Census Bureau counts the home as “sold” — not at the actual closing. This is the main driver of the November New Home Sales data dip.

First-time home buyers would have risked up to $8,000 in federal tax credits if they bought a newly-built home and it wasn’t ready for move-in by November 30, 2009. And it wasn’t until November 5 that the credit was officially extended.

Suddenly, first-timers representing more than half of last month’s Existing Home Sales isn’t so shocking. Buying new carried a lot risk.

There’s always more to the story than the headline. Sometimes, you have to dig deeper. Looking back over 10 months, the housing market is on a steady course of improvement. November’s New Home Sales data — although weak — is not terrible.

Despite what the papers might say.

For the 4th consecutive month, the Existing Home Sales report revealed what today’s buyers and sellers already know — there’s a lot of buyer activity right now.

Existing Home Sales surged 7-plus percent in November, posting its largest number of recorded sales in 33 months. Sales volume is up 44% higher versus last year.

It’s another example of the housing market in recovery.

There were other interesting statistics buried in the November data, too. According to the National Association of Realtors:

1. 51 percent of home buyers were first-timers
2. Distressed properties accounted for one-third of all sales
3. The median home sale price rose slightly

But of all the stats from the November Existing Home Sales report, perhaps the most important one is the one showing home supplies falling to 6.5 months. It’s nearly half of the home supply available last November.

The rapid run-off of inventory throughout 2009 is more than a trend at this point and suggests higher home valuations in 2010. Especially because mortgage rates are low, tax credits are available, and the press is giving housing positive coverage.

You shouldn’t feel rushed to buy, but you probably don’t wait too long, either. The best deals of 2010 may be gone before that Spring Buying Season even starts.

Mortgage pricing worsened Monday, driving mortgage rates to their highest levels since October.

The day’s action was drastic, too.

Some banks issued as many as 3 rate sheets Monday — each worse than the preceding and one reason why rates got so bad, so quickly, is because this week marks the beginning of mini-Vacation Season on Wall Street.

Between now and January 4, 2010, be prepared for big swings in pricing from day-to-day. Shopping for a mortgage could be a challenge.

The relationship between vacation days and mortgage rate volatility is rooted in how mortgage rates are “made”.

1. Conforming mortgage rates are based on the price of mortgage-backed bonds, a security that is sold on Wall Street
2. Mortgage-backed bonds can’t sell without a bond buyer and a bond seller agreeing to a specific sale price

So, during vacation week, when the total number of market participants are less, there are fewer opportunities for buyers and sellers to meet at a specific price. As a result, bond prices rise and fall with a higher velocity than on a “normal” day. Rallies and momentum plays are exaggerated, too.

Now, mortgage market action like this can work in your favor, or it could work out of your favor. Unfortunately, on Monday, rates moved out of favor.

This rest of this week is stacked with market-moving economic data. The data could be better-than-expected, or worse-than-expected. Either way, markets will react a little more feverishly than normal. Therefore, if you have a chance to lock a favorable rate, consider taking it.

Before long, the rate could be gone.

Despite the improvement last week overall, mortgage pricing remains significantly worse from the all-time lows set in late-November.

Oddly, last week’s most prominent mortgage-related story wasn’t the most influential one.

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee adjourned from a two-day meeting. It voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged from its current target zone of 0.000-0.250 percent. This wasn’t news, per se — markets expected the “no change” vote.

However, in its accompanying press release, the Fed appeared more rosy in its economic outlook, citing improving labor markets and low levels of inflation. Results like this are a mixed bag for rate shoppers, but is generally welcomed as good news.

Rates were unchanged after the FOMC release.

The bigger story last week comes from Greece.

Concerns for the country’s debt burden have been in play for weeks, but last week, Standard & Poor’s officially downgraded Greece’s debt rating. The move triggered concerns regarding broader Eurozone debt, especially considering the recent issues in Dubai.

U.S. mortgage markets benefitted from Greece’s troubles as “safe haven” attracted investors, driving down rates Thursday afternoon.

Debt concerns should remain in focus this week. Furthermore, there’s a bevy of domestic data that could swing rates in either direction, too. Most notably, watch for Tuesday’s housing data, Wednesday’s inflation data, and Thursday’s consumer confidence data. Each can be a powerful influence on rates.

There will be less volume on Wall Street because of Christmas and less volume tends to spur mortgage rate volatility. Be wary of swings in either direction.

Markets close early Thursday and will be closed Friday.