Mortgage-backed bonds followed through on the rally yesterday pushing mortgage rates to their lowest levels since the beginning of February. Much of this momentum was created due to a “flight to quality” which is when investors sell stocks and reinvest the capital into the “safe-haven” of the bond market. The big news of the day […]
Wells Fargo announced today that after March 28, 2008 they would no longer accept “stated income” applications. “Stated Income” loans grew popular over the past few years especially for applicants who were self-employed and reported large deductions on their tax returns. The program allowed applicants such as this to “state” their income on their application […]
The Fiscal Stimulus Package that was signed into law back in early February of this year included a provision that would temporarily allow the GSE’s (Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac) to buy loans which carried loan amounts higher than the current conforming loan limit ($417,000) under certain circumstances. The amounts have finally been released and […]
The beginning of this week is a busy one in terms of financial news. Here are the stories that we feel are of most importance to mortgage rates: *Bear Sterns- The troubled investment bank agreed to be acquired by JP Morgan Chase yesterday for only $2 per share (the stocks 52-week stood @ $160). In […]
And the hits just keep on coming. The volatility and unpredictability of the markets are UNPRECEDENTED right now. Yesterday afternoon we thought that the most important news for mortgage rates this morning would be the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This report was released and showed tame inflation numbers which is a good sign for mortgage […]
Yesterday afternoon mortgage-backed bonds rallied pushing 30 year fixed rates down to 5.875% (.25% lower than where they started). However, mortgage backed bonds are trading lower after hitting the 40-day moving average. If you watched yesterday’s rate update then you know that mortgage-backed bonds have traded amazingly consistent with technical trading patterns over the past […]
I sat in on a real estate sales meeting Monday morning. In the meeting there was a discussion about buyer psychology and how it’s been battered with fear. One of the realtors brought up a great question to ask when prospective buyers mention that they’ve read/ heard the housing market is bad, “Bad for who […]
Mortgage-backed bonds managed to rally yesterday afternoon bouncing off the 200-day moving average (blue line). This is good news for interest rates. The 30 year fixed rate is still hovering @ 6.125% but we may see that drop to 6.00% as more investors issue their morning rate sheets. Watch today’s you tube video for a […]
Continued uncertainty about the value of mortgage-backed bonds has pressured rates higher over the previous few days. This morning the Fed stepped in to provide additional liquidity for financial institutions to buy mortgage-backed securities by increasing their “Term Securities Lending Facility”. This was a good sign but may not be enough to save mortgage-backed bonds […]
Last week the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) increased the loan limits for FHA loan products. It’s important to understand that this only applies to FHA loans and does not apply to conforming loan limits although the methodology for increasing FHA loan limits is the same. In either case the maximum loan limit is 125% of […]