cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for October 15th 2010 - 10/15/10 08:40 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for October 15th 2010
Economic News:  The majority of the economic reports were concentrated at the end of the week.  On Thursday Initial Jobless Claims and the Producer Price Index (PPI) were reported.  The jobless numbers were higher than expected at 462,000 and there was a very slight increase in the four week moving average.  The PPI figures showed an increase of .40% from last month and up 4% from last year.  When the volatile food and energy components are excluded producer prices increased a modest 1.5% over last year.  Friday's Consumer Price Index (CPI) … (0 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for October 1st 2010 - 10/01/10 09:33 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for October 1st 2010
Economic News: The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers were released yesterday.  The 1.7% growth figure, while still a little weak, came in at the top end of the consensus range. Initial Jobless Claims were reported lower by 16,000 and the four week average trended lower for the fifth straight week.  Today's Personal Income & Outlays reported that income was up .50% month over month and up 3.3% year over year.  Consumer Spending was reported up .40% month over month and 2.7% year over year.  Consumer Sentiment had a nice gain at 68.2 which … (2 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 28th 2010 - 09/28/10 08:01 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 28th 2010
Economic News:  A fairly big dose of economic data will be released this week.  Today brought us the Case-Shiller Home Price Index & Consumer Confidence readings.  The HPI data was a bit of a mixed bag with the non-seasonally adjusted data showing gains in both the month to month as well as year over year measurements.  When seasonally adjusted the data is basically showing a flat line.  Consumer Confidence came in under consensus and was at the lowest point since the beginning of the year.
 Mortgage Markets: The yield on the … (3 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 22nd, 2010 - 09/22/10 06:53 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 22nd 2010
Economic News:  Tuesday's Housing Starts figures beat the estimates by a wide margin.  This was mostly due to the Multi Family sector starts which rose 32.2% for August.  The Single Family component rose as well up 4.3% versus a 6.7% drop in July.  Yesterday's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement contained the language that "the pace of recovery in output and employment has slowed in recent months."  The FED signaled that the Fed Funds Rate would remain low for an "extended period" and it will review additional measures to "jump start" … (2 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 20th, 2010 - 09/20/10 08:49 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 20th 2010
Economic News:  This morning's Housing Market Index was reported at 13 for September which is the same level as last month.  We will get much more information on housing later this week as Existing Home Sales will be reported on Thursday & New Home Sales on Friday.  Also out today was a report by the National  Bureau of Economic Research (which per the Wall Street Journal is tasked with "dating changes in the US business cycle) that the recession officially began in December of 2007 and ended in June of 2009.  If you … (0 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 17th, 2010 - 09/17/10 07:12 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 17th 2010
Economic News:  On Wednesday the Industrial Production numbers for August were reported and were in line with consensus.  Thursday's Producer Price Index revealed a uptick in inflation but if you exclude to volatile food and energy sectors it was up only .10% from last month.  Initial Jobless Claims numbers came in at 450,000 which was lower than anticipated and the four week moving average posted a nice decline.  Today's Consumer Price Index release, in line with thePPI, showed that the food and energy sector was leading the way in the inflation … (3 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 14th, 2010 - 09/14/10 07:03 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 14th 2010
Economic News:  Today's Retail Sales Report beat consensus estimates, posted a second month of gains, and supports the opinion that while growth is tepid it is still growth.  This data supports the notion that we may avoid a double dip recession.
Mortgage Markets: The yield on the 10 Year Note rallied yesterday and today with the yield back down to 2.684%.  Mortgage Backed Securities have stabilized after heavy losses last Friday and made nice gains to start the week.
This Week's Reports:  Monday:  Treasury Budget.  Tuesday:  Retail Sales.  Wednesday:  Industrial Production.  … (0 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 10th, 2010 - 09/10/10 06:49 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 10th 2010
Economic News:  The economic reports this week boosted the Equity Markets at the Expense of the Bond Markets.  Wednesday's Beige Book Report did not hold any surprises and reflected the sentiment that the recovery has slowed a bit but economic growth is still expanding.  Thursday's Jobless Claims report revealed that Initial Claims came in well below expectations at 451K for the week and improvement was shown in continuing claims as well.  Finally, the 30 Year Bond Auction on Thursday did not go well and put additional pressures on interest rates.
Mortgage … (0 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 7th, 2010 - 09/07/10 07:25 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 7th 2010
Economic News:  It is going to be a quiet week for economic data.  The stock market has started out lower this week due to questions over the "Stress Tests" in the European Banking Sector.  Wednesday will also have the release of the "Beige Book" (released 8 times per year ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee FOMC) meeting.
Mortgage Markets: The 10 Year Note is rallying on the equity weakness this morning with the yield falling back to 2.620% and Mortgage Backed Securities are recovering a bit of last week's losses.  … (0 comments)

cari anderson: Life Is Sweeter "At The Candy Shop" in Danville, CA - 09/07/10 06:45 AM
Want some candy? If you have a sweet tooth (like I do), you NEED to head to At The Candy Shop in downtown Danville! This feast for the eyes as well as the mouth has been wildly popular since it opened in early 2009.
A true candy lover's dream the store has the expected rainbow of Jelly Belly and M&M dispensers. But here you will also find candy you may not have seen in some time - remember Charleston Chews, Necco Wafers and Chick-O-Stix? They're all here. Are you a Choc-aholic? Head over to the glass case chock full of chocolate covered … (5 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 3rd, 2010 - 09/03/10 05:47 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for September 3rd 2010
Economic News:  The stock market has done well this week and is poised to end a three week downturn.  Much of this week's economic data was better than expected which boosted equities and hurt bonds.
On Monday Personal Income & Outlays were reported for July.  Consumer Income rose .20% month over month and year over year showed a rise of 3%.  Consumer Spending was up .40%, beating estimates, and rose 3.4% over last year.
On Tuesday it was reported that the Case-Shiller Home Price Index for June rose 1% month over … (2 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 27th, 2010 - 08/27/10 11:37 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 27th 2010

Economic News:   A wild week in the markets ended with a big rally in the Stock Market and a selloff in the Bond Market.  The week's economic reports included:  Existing Home Sales, New Home Sales, Durable Goods Orders, Jobless Claims and Gross Domestic Product and Consumer Sentiment.  Although there were a few positives in some of the data the overall picture was disappointing and the markets were looking a little bleak at the start of trading Friday.  The markets began to rally shortly after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled … (2 comments)

cari anderson: How Will the New FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums Affect Your Buying Power? - 08/24/10 03:56 AM
How Will the New FHA Mortgage Insurance Structure Affect Your Buying Power?
Earlier this month, HUD announced that there would be some forthcoming changes to its FHA mortgage insurance program on October 4th of this year. (Please see below for the link to HUD's Mortgagee Letter on this topic) Since FHA loans are a good percentage of all loans funded today these changes could have a significant impact on the loan amount a potential borrower qualifies for. Let's look at how FHA mortgage insurance works. There are two types of FHA mortgage insurance that are charged in conjunction with FHA financing.
(30 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 23rd, 2010 - 08/23/10 09:03 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 23rd 2010
Economic News:   A quiet day with no economic reports to speak of.  The rest of the week will provide a fair amount of data assisting the near term view of where things are heading.   A lot of debt is scheduled to be auctioned off this week.  There will be U.S. Treasury Auctions as well as a host of Municipal Bond Sales.  All this together will make for a lot of supply, and competition for mortgage paper, so keep a close eye on the bond markets this week.
Mortgage Markets: The yield … (0 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 20th, 2010 - 08/20/10 05:23 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 20th 2010
Economic News:  There is really nothing to note in the way of economic releases today (which is probably a good thing considering the week's reports thus far).  This time of year provides volatile markets due to lower volume with many participants on the sidelines enjoying the last two weeks of August.  Yesterday's Jobless Claims, Leading Economic Indicators and the Philadelphia Fed Survey were not as positive as some hoped.  No need to share any more negative economic news this week.  Next week has a pretty decent number of important reports which … (3 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 18th, 2010 - 08/18/10 04:16 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 18th 2010
Economic News:  While there is really nothing to speak of on the economic calendar today there were a few reports yesterday.  While slipping a little in June, the Industrial Production Report showed nice gains across most sectors for the month of July.  Production rose 1% in July beating expectations of a .6% increase.  Capacity Utilization rose to 74.8% beating the consensus of 74.5%.  The Producer Price Index (PPI) came in right on consensus for the month to month measurement while rising 4.1% year over year.  Lower energy prices coupled with higher … (2 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 16th, 2010 - 08/16/10 07:37 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 16th 2010
Economic News:  The National Association of Home Builders released their Housing Market Index numbers this morning.  The index trended down to 13 and has slid down since the expiration of the tax incentives.  Another item putting pressure on the Equity Markets was the overnight report of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Japan being less than expected and now it appears China may surpass Japan by year end as the second largest economy in the world.
Mortgage Markets: The yield on the 10 Year Note is continuing its downward trend this … (3 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 13th, 2010 - 08/13/10 05:16 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 13th 2010
Economic News:  Thursday's Jobless Claims numbers came in well above consensus at 484K which is the highest level since February.  In contrast the four week moving average actually fell 118K.  This morning the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data was released showing that energy led to a slight increase in inflation.  Taking out the volatile food and energy segment the index only rose a muted .10%.  Auto sales led the way in a rebound in the Retail Sales numbers.  On a year over year comparison retail sales were 5.5% higher for the … (1 comments)

cari anderson: Closing Costs Explained: Part Two – Lender/Broker Fees - 08/12/10 11:19 AM
I've often wondered how a good faith estimate, an initial closing cost fee sheet and/or an estimated settlement statement must look to a first time home buyer. All of these documents itemize the various closing costs involved in purchasing their home yet they do not explain exactly what each fee entails.
Of course, a good loan officer will sit down with his or her clients and carefully explain the loan's closing costs. However, in this day and age, it is very common for a loan officer to never meet his or her client face to face. I have conducted several transactions … (4 comments)

cari anderson: Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 11th, 2010 - 08/11/10 06:24 AM
Cari Anderson's East Bay Mortgage Update for August 11th 2010
Economic News:  The announcement yesterday from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) retained the statement that "rates are expected to remain low for an extended period".    In addition, it was noted that "the pace of recovery in output and employment has slowed in recent months" but also included that growth was continuing.  International Trade numbers were released this morning revealing a sharp rise in our trade deficit, reaching $49.9 Billion for the month of June, as the demand for our exports fell overseas while our appetite for imported goods rose.  The … (3 comments)

 


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