Mortgage Blog

The financial markets are closed today for Good Friday. Current Outlook: Locking

Technical trading patterns have us concerned that we’ll see rates reverse higher over the coming days. Since bouncing off the 200-day moving average (blue line) back on March 7th 30-year fixed rates have improved by about .50%. However, the rally looks like it will be short lived. You’ll see in the chart below that the […]

A Fate Worse Than Debt: Are You a Walking Junk Bond? By JONATHAN CLEMENTS March 19, 2008; Banks are shaky. Bonds are suffering cuts in their credit ratings. Even bond insurers are hurting. Next up for a downgrade: people. As the economy sputters and the housing market slumps, folks are struggling to pay their bills, […]

Mortgage rates rose .25% following the Fed rate cut of .75%. Why? First off, we already know that Fed rate cuts raise concerns about future inflation. In his post-announcement speech Chairman Ben Bernanke said: “Inflation has been elevated, and some indicators of inflation expectations have risen. The Committee expects inflation to moderate in coming quarters, […]

Fed Cuts by Three-Quarter Point By BRIAN BLACKSTONE and HENRY J. PULIZZI March 18, 2008 2:19 p.m. WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed its key interest rate to a three-year low and signaled more reductions are likely, unloading heavy artillery in its effort to keep the credit crunch from triggering a prolonged recession. […]

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 […]