mortgage markets

Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 27, 2008

October 27, 2008

Mortgage markets followed the recurring trading pattern of 2008 last week — volatility, volatility, and more volatility. After opening with a strong performance that drove rates down, late-week fears of a global recession reversed that path.  Mortgage rates ended the week unchanged. This was an unexpected outcome for the week considering that: The dollar gained […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 27, 2008

October 27, 2008

Mortgage markets followed the recurring trading pattern of 2008 last week — volatility, volatility, and more volatility. After opening with a strong performance that drove rates down, late-week fears of a global recession reversed that path. Mortgage rates ended the week unchanged. This was an unexpected outcome for the week considering that: The dollar gained […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 20, 2008

October 20, 2008

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded both its largest one-day point gain and second-largest one-day point loss in history. Mortgage markets got whipsawed, too. From day to day, huge rate swings made mortgage rate shopping difficult.  It wasn’t uncommon for lenders to change pricing 3 times per day. When the week closed, though, […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 13, 2008

October 14, 2008

Throughout the feverish activity on Wall Street last week, mortgage bonds sold off with force, driving mortgage rates to their highest levels since July. It was the fourth straight week in which mortgage rates worsened. But, with the mortgage markets closed Monday, stock markets rallied to their largest one-day gain in history. The Dow Jones’ […]

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Why Mortgage Rates Haven’t Fallen As Expected

October 10, 2008

When the government nationalized mortgage lending in September, housing analysts predicted lower mortgage rates. For a brief two-week stint, they were right — post-takeover, the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage fell below 6.000 percent nationally for the first time in 7 months. Since then, however, mortgage markets have reversed. Rates are now at pre-takeover levels. Now, […]

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The Impact Of The Federal Reserve’s Emergency Half-Point Rate Cut To 1.500 Percent

October 8, 2008

The Federal Reserve made an “emergency rate cut” this morning, dropping the Fed Funds Rate by one half-percent to 1.500 percent. The move is meant to stimulate the U.S. economy. When the Federal Reserve changes the Fed Funds Rate, it often takes 9 months for the changes to work their way through the economy. On […]

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Some People Were Thrilled To Watch The Stock Market Fall Below 10,000

October 7, 2008

Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below the psychologically-important 10,000 level for the first time since 2004. Despite the milestone-marker breach, however, there was a large group of Americans with reason to cheer.  As stocks sold off, mortgage markets rallied to the benefit of home buyers and mortgage rates shoppers everywhere. Conforming mortgages rates […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 6, 2008

October 6, 2008

Congress approved the $700 billion “Bailout Bill” Friday, answering the question that dogged mortgage markets all week long: Will they or won’t they pass it? The uncertainty prior to the vote created huge market swings that ultimately sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst week since the 2001 terrorist attacks, while causing similar […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : September 15, 2008

September 15, 2008

In a week overdone with market-altering news, conforming mortgage rates shed a quarter-percent overall last week.  It was the third straight week in which rates improved. The biggest story, by far, was the government’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two quasi-government agencies were nationalized into bona fide government agencies, converted mortgage-backed debt into risk-free, government […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : September 8, 2008

September 8, 2008

Mortgage markets improved last week on Hurricane Gustav’s less-than-expected damages and a strengthening U.S. dollar. Even factoring in Friday’s 0.125 percent run-up on most mortgage products, rates improved overall. It’s the second straight week in which mortgage rates improved. But for all the news that we could dissect from last week, it should be the news […]

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See How Mortgage Rates Are Trending With Oil Prices

September 3, 2008

Mortgage rates are hugely important to household budgets. Lower mortgage rates free up household cash for spending and long- and short-term saving. Higher mortgage rates, of course, do the opposite. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to predict the future of mortgage rates with any bit of certainty.  This is because there are countless influences on mortgage markets, […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : August 25, 2008

August 25, 2008

Momentum carried mortgage markets through a week of low trading volume and few economic releases.  Rates were volatile, but ended the week unchanged overall. Don’t let the word “unchanged” fool you, however. From day-to-day last week, mortgage rates covered a huge range and it was only coincidence that Friday ended where Monday began. And it’s the second […]

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The Mortgage Market’s Abnormal Reaction To July’s Producer Price Index Reading

August 20, 2008

The Producer Price Index is a business inflation meter and it’s now up 9.8 percent annually. This is a huge number for PPI and represents the highest year-over-year rate of inflation since 1981. Normally, blowout inflation like this would be terrible for mortgage rates but mortgage markets are actually improved since Tuesday’s data release. Usually, a rocketing PPI would […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : August 4, 2008

August 4, 2008

In a week in which stock markets moved 1 percent or more on four separate days, mortgage markets displayed a relative calmness that helped pull rates lower. It was the second consecutive week that mortgage rates improved. Last week’s biggest story came Monday when the housing bill was passed into law.  The new law provides lifelines […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : July 21, 2008

July 21, 2008

Mortgage rates soared last week as mortgage markets experienced a 4-day freefall. By the end of the trading week, conforming mortgage rates had jumped by as much as 0.500 percent. The spike in rates can’t be pinned on any one factor, but 3 contributing factors include: The lingering impact of high energy prices on inflation […]

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Fannie And Freddie Are Yesterday’s News, Says The Market

July 15, 2008

Mortgage markets have turned their attention back to the U.S. economy this morning, causing yesterday’s rate improvements to unwind a bit. Rates had fallen Monday after the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury’s joint announcement in support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Today, it’s the data that is taking center stage. Most notably, the U.S. […]

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The “Sheep Effect” On Your Housing Payment

July 9, 2008

A noon-hour, mortgage-bond rally rendered homes more affordable for Americans Tuesday. It was the second straight day on which this happened. On both days, the action was swift. The speed at which Monday’s and Tuesday’s respective rallies tore through mortgage markets illustrates how deep the uncertainty that surrounds the U.S. economy really is. One reason […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : July 7, 2008

July 7, 2008

Last week was fairly uneventful in the mortgage markets, with rates slightly edging lower across the board and without much data to influence trading. Even Thursday morning’s hotly-anticipated jobs report was met with lukewarm interest; many traders had already left for the weekend. Mortgage rates just drifted — a little up and little down, but mostly unchanged. […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : June 30, 2008

June 30, 2008

Mortgage rates improved last week, marking the first time since mid-May that has happened. The rate drop is the result of how mortgage markets interpreted the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday press release. In it, the Fed said: Inflation pressures should lessen soon Growth should remain steady this year The credit market is currently fragile Separately, none […]

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What You Need To Know About Mortgage Rate Quotes

June 19, 2008

Home buyers are often surprised when a “rate quote” from the morning won’t be honored in the afternoon.  Sometimes, the assumption is that the loan officer is just being sneaky. This couldn’t be less true. Rate quotes change in the middle of the day because mortgage markets are in constant flux.  All day, every day — […]

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