What is a point? A point is equal to 1% of the loan amount and is a fee that can be paid at closing in exchange for a lower interest rate for the life of the loan (in most cases the discount for paying a point is .125%-.375%). A point is disclosed on the Good […]
Mortgage-backed bonds rallied yesterday afternoon pushing mortgages rates slightly lower. From a technical standpoint mortgage-backed bonds are trading in a wide range and there does not appear to be any significant resistance or support. Because there is no significant technical influence or heavy economic data out today we’ll keep an eye on the stock market. […]
Inflation, Spanning Globe, Is Set to Reach Decade High By ANDREW BATSON April 10, 2008; Page A1 Inflation is back. After several years of relative stability, a wave of rising prices is washing over the world economy. It comes at a most inconvenient time. The Federal Reserve is sharply cutting U.S interest rates — the […]
I came across this video and thought it did a good job of explaining the factors involved in creating housing cycles.
Mortgage rates remain favorable this morning despite yesterday’s release of the Fed Minutes which revealed that two Fed officials dissented from the Fed’s last rate cut. The two Fed officials voiced concerns over inflation which we know is not good for mortgage rates. Further raising concerns about inflation are higher oil prices & a weaker […]
First Quarter earnings season has gotten off to a rocky start as aluminum company Alcoa, and chip makers Advanced Micro Devices and Novellus Systems reported weak earnings. This has sent a bit of a negative tone over the stock market this morning, which has kept bonds fairly favorable. The bad news for bonds could be […]
Friday’s weak Job Report number put a bit of wind back in the sales of Mortgage Backed Bonds on Friday which helped rates out during the day. This morning however, we have seen the stock market rally a bit and pull money out of the bond market taking some of that momentum away. (Remember that […]
The Jobs Report is in and does not look good. This morning the Labor Department reported a loss of 80,000 jobs in March- the biggest monthly job loss in 5 years. The good news is that this has helped Mortgage Backed Bonds trade about 34 basis points higher on the day. This has pushed rates […]
You Tube link to see rate update video: no video today Mortgage Bonds are trading higher today after a weaker than expected initial jobless claims report provided a slight boost. This boost has kept bonds trading above the important 50 day moving average. The initial jobless claims were reported at a worrisome 407,000, reaching their […]
Hopefully your clients took our advice to lock in yesterday ahead of rates moving higher. This morning mortgage-backed bond prices are making another attempt to break below the 50-day moving average. You’ll notice in circled area below that the red bar (bond prices) is right on top of the black line (50-day moving average). This […]