1) Where are Rates?
On their way up. The EuroZone news that came out that they think they have solved the Greece debt issues has cause the stock market to rise over 500 points in the last 2 days. That sort of positive progression in the stock market almost always has a negative effect on mortgage rates. Today in particular mortgage rates have really climbed up.
2) Where are they going?
Over the last 10 days they have been on a climb. I think they will continue to creep higher. That could change as the Euro plan is digested and they find the glitches in it or any more news comes out – say Italy. But for now the news is positive and with our positive GDP news as well that is going to put pressure to push rates higher.
3) New Government Program – the extension of HARP
The HARP Program – Home Affordable Refinance Program – expansion was announced this week. The program has been in place for a while now, but it was just announced that it will no longer cap the loan to value at 125% of appraised value, but have it limitless and waive the need for an appraisal. This will open up the market for a lot of people, especially here in AZ who are more than 25% underwater to be able to take advantage of the low rates. The full effects of the expansion will not be in the market till the end of December, but keep checking back as we get more updates about it.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed.
Because of the bad employment numbers rates ticked down and today hit lows again for the year. 15 year par pricing is 3.5 and a 30 year is 4.25. We are helping lots of borrower right now strategize their mortgage liability by taking advantage of these lows and switching to a 15 year or an ARM product that is as low as 2.375%. Call today if you want to take advantage of this amazing rates as well. 480-503-3533
A lot has happened since last weeks update: Rates are at the lowest level of 2011. I can get a rate of 4.625 on a 30 year with no origination fee or discount fee, a 15 year a 3.75% with no origination fee or discount fee.
Where are we going from here? Starting June 1st QE2 will stop – which many believe will raise rates. However last time quantitative easing was stopped rates raised a bit at first, but then they came back down because of outside investors coming into that market.
Debt Ceiling debate is also on the table – how that plays out will not only effect mortgage rates but the economy as a whole.
Inflation: in a surprise move the European central bank did not raise their rates. They are concerned about inflation in Europe, but didn’t raise rates because of the slow economy. They said are trying to keep rates low and money flowing, rather than worry about inflation in the future. However this is important to watch – cause inflation will have a huge impact on interest rates.
Rate will probably hold where they are – the lowest of 2011 — thru May.
Mortgage rates are holding. However, I would expect this week to be a very telling week for rate outlook. There is a fed meeting on Wednesday where Bernanke will be stating what is happening with the QE2 which is scheduled to be over here. Many people believe this will have a big impact on the [...]
There have been some government changes in the industry this month – and not all good for you the consumer. FHA Monthly Mortgage Insurance premiums are going up .25%. This means about an extra $20 a month for every 100K you borrower. That means less people will be able to qualify for underwriting and you [...]
Rates are holding pretty well this week. they are up from last week, but still competitive. 4.625 is about par and 4.875% is paying almost 2 points back on a 30 year fixed. if you don’t know what it means when I say “paying back” you need to call me – i will help explain [...]
Rates have been very volatile. They were on a slow steady incline until we ran into the issues with Egypt, Japan and Libya, then they came back down again. Right now they are slowly going up again. As always, we are at the mercy of the market. As the stock market stabilizes and Japan gets [...]
2011 has started off as 2010 ended – volatile. Rates have continued to rise, but don’t get me wrong, rates are still good, just not as good as they were in 2010. I don’t expect them to return to those 2010 levels. We expect that rates will continue to rise as the year progresses on [...]
This Nov the fed started their quantive easing strategy. Simply put Quanative easing is when the fed buys treasuries to try and help lower interest rates. When this started the news started reporting that mortgage rates have hit new lows again. Without a doubt mortgage rates remain near historic lows with par pricing on a [...]
Everyone is well aware that we are in historic times for mortgages. From rates being so low to values being so low. The problem facing many homeowners today is the fact that a home you bought in recent years is now worth significantly less than you paid for it. You are upside down on equity. [...]
Rates have remained low because of the unsettled state of the economy. The concern being are we going to double dip in a recession? Most economists now feel that we will not double dip, but stay at this very low rate of growth. What does that mean for you and mortgage rates…..we should stay bouncing [...]
Well just when we thought mortgage rates couldn’t go any lower……….they do!!! Depending on your loan amount you could possibly do a 30 Year fixed with no points or origination fee at 4.375% and a 15 year at 3.875%! What you ask is driving down rates so much? In one word, uncertainty. The global economics [...]
Mortgage rates have taken a dramatic step for the better! What is the world is happening? Rates are even LOWER today as investors are all over the place. The stock market is being hit hard today and that is because of all the instability in the market. As we have been talking about for weeks, [...]
It is time to take advantage of what investors have given us. We are back near the historic low pricing. How long will they last? We will need to watch for next weeks news on whether or not there has been an signs of inflation. If there are it is most likely that rates will [...]
The market has its biggest one day swing in history. As we spoke about before “Greece” is the word. The Greece debt problems cause panic on the market today. With Greece’s debt problems come problems with the Euro and the world economic recovery. With this concern looming over the market people sought the security of [...]
Are current mortgage rates an un-expected gift? Most experts predicted that mortgages rates would go up when the Fed stopped buying Mortgage Backed Securities in April, but rates have not increased. Why? The biggest reason there has not been the forecasted increase in rates has been the uncertainty of the European financial market, specifically, Greece [...]
Notes on today’s market update: Rates up. The fed stopped purchasing and we dropped 141 basis points. We should expect more instability and then stability in the market due to 2 reasons. 1) there will be an auction of long term t bills tomorrow and thursday and 2) the fed may start to sell what [...]
Some of the high points of today’s market update include: March in like a lamb – out like a lion! Job numbers come out on Friday, and they are expected at this point to be good. That should mean that stock market will rise and the mortgage bond market drop. Rates have already climbed up [...]
