Mortgage rates have improved modestly today thanks to a weaker stock market and technical trading patterns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently off by over 100 points in response to weak earnings results out of Ford Motor Co. & slower than expected home sales. The weakness in stock is creating additional demand for bonds. […]
0% down financing is getting harder and harder to find these days. The most common approach of creating 0% down financing is through the FHA loophole which allows for a seller to contribute the 3% required down payment via a down payment assistance program such as Nehemiah and Ameridream. However, the Federal Government will eliminate […]
Mortgages backed-bond prices remain at the lowest level all year which means mortgage rates are also at the highest level. Looking ahead there is a mixed bag of news which could influence the direction of rates. Working in favor of mortgage rates this morning are a couple items: *Oil prices are now trading 16% lower […]
On Saturday the Senate passed the Housing Bill. This 700-page law brings a variety of new rules and provisions that will impact the housing industry in a variety of ways. The President is expected to sign the bill into law early this week. Here are some summary points that any real estate professional should be […]
When a home buyer takes out a new mortgage and has less than 20% down often times they will be required to provide mortgage insurance to the lender (exceptions exist when we’re able to provide “combination loans” which are fairly uncommon these days). Mortgage Insurance (also known as “mi” or “pmi‘) is insurance which covers […]
Treasury Secratary Henry Paulson has been lobbying Congress & the American Public to support his plan to instill confidence back into Fannie & Freddie. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal carried stories this morning about his efforts. Here is a link the the NY Times article. Here is a link to the […]
Mortgages backed-bond prices are now at the lowest level we’ve seen all year which means mortgage rates are at the highest level. Earlier in the morning it looked as if mortgage rates may benefit from a sell-off in the stock market following weaker than expected earnings outlooks from American Express, Apple, & Wachovia. In fact, […]
The NYT did a great article about foreign participation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed bonds on July 21st. The article quantifies the involvement of foreign investors in buying mortgage-backed bonds (which helps keep bond yields/ interest rates low). The article suggests that in the past few years Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac officials […]
Mortgages rates have now reached multi-month highs. Since Tuesday, July 15th the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied by over 6% as confidence in the financial sector has begun to return to investors’ psyche. Watch today’s you tube video for a refresher on how the stock market impacts mortgage rates. Current Outlook: cautiously floating
Mortgages rates are slightly higher for a 3rd straight day. Since July 15th the stock market has rallied by over 4%. This rally has pressured mortgage-backed bond prices lower by 188 basis points. Below is a chart showing mortgage backed bond prices over the past 6 months. Mortgage-backed bonds are currently trading at recent support […]