July 19, 2010
Mortgage markets improved for the 5th straight week last week as consumer confidence waned and inflation data tamed. Investors ignored the news that 19 of 23 reporting S&P 500 companies beat their respective earnings estimates and sold off on stocks.
There’s concern about a potential economic slowdown for the months ahead and it may be well-founded.
Despite [...]
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July 12, 2010
Mortgage markets improved again last week — if only barely — throughout a holiday-shortened week devoid of “major” data and market conviction.
Up-and-down trading characterized the week which ended with mortgage rates slightly lower versus the week prior.
Mortgage rates have fallen in 4 consecutive weeks and are on an extended rally that dates back to mid-April.
This [...]
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July 6, 2010
Mortgage markets improved last week as economic data revealed a slowing U.S. economy.
Major stock indices fell to 2010 lows in response to a weak jobs report among other data points, forcing worldwide investors into the relative safety of U.S. government-backed bonds. This category includes mortgage-backed bonds and the extra demand helped to drop rates.
Once [...]
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June 30, 2010
Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday. The index is a monthly home valuation report from select cities and among the private sector’s most popular home pricing models.
In reviewing the April Case-Shiller Index and its accompanying analysis, it appears that the housing market’s rebound is gathering momentum.
In the index’s 20 tracked cities:
• 18 of [...]
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June 28, 2010
Mortgage markets improved last week in response to mostly negative data about the U.S. economy, and the Federal Reserve’s acknowledgement that Eurozone financial ills could cross the Atlantic.
Conforming and FHA mortgage rates fell last week, extending a rate rally that dates to early-April. Mortgage rates have fallen to several, new, all-time lows during this [...]
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June 23, 2010
Today, in its first meeting in 5 weeks, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-to-1 to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged.
The Fed Fund Rate remains within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
In its press release, the FOMC said that, since April, “the economic recovery is proceeding” and that the jobs market “is improving [...]
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June 21, 2010
Mortgage markets improved last week on weaker-than-expected jobless figures, ongoing troubles in Europe, and a tame reading on domestic inflation.
As a result, conforming mortgage rates fell last week, drawing loads of new refinance applications.
For a brief moment Thursday afternoon, mortgage bond prices pierced a key support level, dropping rates to their best levels of the [...]
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June 18, 2010
As its June 30, 2010 closing deadline approaches, the federal home buyer tax credit is back in the news.
Unfortunately, the headlines are misleading.
Contrary to what you may have read (or heard), the federal home buyer tax credit has not been extended past June 30, 2010. At least not yet. And here’s why there’s confusion.
Look at [...]
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June 16, 2010
Starting next week, Fannie Mae is clamping down on the popular interest only loan product.
An “interest only” mortgage is exactly what its name implies — a mortgage for which the monthly payments consist entirely of interest with no principal reduction. Because there’s no amortization, payments are less costly on a month-to-month basis.
For example, assuming principal [...]
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June 14, 2010
Mortgage markets posted four good days last week and one awful one. Unfortunately, that one bad day outweighed the gains of the other four and mortgage rates worsened on the week overall.
Despite re-touching all-time lows on Tuesday and Wednesday, Conforming and FHA mortgage rates moved higher on the week.
There wasn’t much domestic data on [...]
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