You can't put it any better than this. - 10/23/08 08:06 PM
Considering the volatility and uncertainty we're up against and considering the doom and gloom that's unavoidable if you "have television" or "see newspapers" or "leave your home on occasion", let's look back to President Calvin Coolidge. Closed Mouth Cal has some of the greatest quotes in history if you're into that sort of thing obviously. Personally, I draw a lot from reading what people much smarter than me have said. I know it's cliche or sort of "rah rah" type stuff that most people don't put a lot of stock in, but at times certain quotes do hit the mark. This, … (7 comments)

I'm a slacker - 10/18/08 01:37 PM
Been awhile since I got a new post up here, crazy week of work can do that to you. Volatile is becoming an overused term anymore but I swear that's being redefined every week. This week was no exception. The Dow has been on wicked roller coaster and closed the weekend down, after trading in a 567point range, losing 127points on the day to close at 8,852 while the S&P shed 5 points to close at 940. The NASDAQ also finished 6 points on the red side of the line to close at 1,711. Switching focus this week on the Mortgage … (3 comments)

Tuesday's thoughts by a member of "The 1/3rd" - 10/14/08 06:21 PM
2/3rd of the people writing mortgages a year ago are now doing something else. 66% of the industry is gone. I would guess that the same will be true for Realtors, appraisers, closing attorney's, etc., not to mention builders, in about 6 months, maybe less, thanks to the little 'lag window' in the financial and the 'boots on the ground' and/or the end user. The last figure I saw for Realtors in South Carolina (an area that has not been hit anywhere near the extent of other markets) was that the registered and licensed Realtors on the SC MLS was somewhere around … (4 comments)

What a way to close the week and few words of "wisdom" - 10/10/08 06:34 PM
Not getting into it, just feel obligated to update you on where things closed. Dow was down 128 points at the close, finished the week at 8,451. S&P shed 10 points to close at 899 and the good old NASDAQ actually picked up 4 points to close at 1,649. We have a holiday Monday for the markets so the next update on that note will be Tuesday. The 5.5% FNMA continued it's plunge and was taken behind the old woodshed to close down 109bp on the day to finish the week at $98.25.
Have you seen Charlie Wilsons War? The scene at … (1 comments)

Anyone Still Positive? - 10/09/08 07:51 PM
The first assumption that has to be made is that you have some optimistic tendencies or you wouldn't still be in the business. If my first assumption is incorrect, then you have not been paying attention and had you been paying attention, you most likely wouldn't have gotten out of the bed this morning.
Chicken Little is all I can think about right now except it's not the sky that's falling, it's the stock market. And wow, when it goes, it goes. 1 year ago today, 10/9/07, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed trading at 14,093.08. The NASDAQ was sitting at 2,805 … (13 comments)

Not for beginners, this is only for those that want to be good at their job. - 10/08/08 07:03 PM
The quick answer on "why this is important." Because your clients will ask you about it and if you don't know the answer, you fuel their fear. And as we've discussed, fear kills deals. Bottom line. If you, their real estate professional, don't have some grip on the financial markets, then you cannot properly advise them in their home buying process. If you do know the answers, you eliminate a lot of the anxiety that will be hoovering over your clients dinner table tonight while your well written and professional offer for that property they loved so much sits unsigned on … (0 comments)

Today; signals from Berhanke on potential Fed moves. - 10/07/08 08:12 PM
The FNMA 5.5% bond jumped around in a 53bp range today but was under profit-taking pressure because of the recent jumps. All surges have to have little retreats in order to sustain themselves and that's pretty much what we saw today. The bond wrapped up the day trading 19bp lower to close at $100.62. Only one or two lenders repriced from for the worse compared to their initial rate sheets of the morning and that was due in large part to the fact that most of the real damage was done early as we still closed up 28bp from the initial … (1 comments)

When $700 Billion just isn't enough. - 10/06/08 07:55 PM
Crazy week last week, global markets didn't get that 'rejuvination' needed over the weekend apparently. The Dow fell as much as 800 points during today's trading before mustering up a rally to close "only down 370 points" on fears that the bailout package may have been too little too late to stem any economic downturn. Bonds of course saw the benefit as investors found the safe haven of the bond market for their dollars. Our benchmark, the 5.5% FNMA mortgage bond, traded in a 68bp range and ended up closing at $100.81 which was 56bp higher than we started the day. This … (2 comments)

Weekly Wrap and Strategy For Us All Moving Forward - 10/04/08 11:08 AM
First the wrap up on the week, then the move forward ideas and suggestions.
Our benchmark FNMA 5.5% mortgage bond was in the red most of the day before recovering losses late in the session to move 6bp higher to close at $100.25. Mortgage bonds moved lower and stocks higher initially following a worse than forecast Jobs Report. Payrolls in September were worse than forecast with a loss of 159,000 jobs vs. the estimated loss of 104,000. That makes 9  consecutive month of job losses. Investors had been expecting an even worse number and the bad jobs data made it more … (1 comments)

Moving toward the Rescue Bill **UPDATED** - 10/03/08 10:49 AM
Updated: 2:35 pm-
Congress passed the rescue bill this afternoon. Stocks pare a decent amount of their earlier gains, the Dow is up 81 points compared to the 250 it was up to earlier in the day. Nasdaq has cracked 2000 and stayed there, up 24 so far and the S&P is looking at 12 points higher since the open. Mortgage Bonds are showing zero gain on the day, but this is up anywhere from 16 bp to 34 bp from when this mornings rate sheets came out. If this rally continues by moving up a little more even showing … (0 comments)

Employment figures - 10/03/08 07:44 AM
-159,000 jobs lost compared to an estimated -104,000.
Unemployment rate 6.1%, as expected.
Hourly Earnings +.3% on a +.2% estimated.
Average work week 33.6 on an estimate of 33.7.
Jobs lost was more than expected but other figures come in close to or on the number. Markets react positively to the bad news which is odd and pointing towards the fact that the wait is more on the news coming from Washington. 159,000 jobs lost is not a good thing, worst is 5 years, no reason in the world that should push up the Dow and NASDAQ but it did. Mortgage backed … (1 comments)

5 minutes until the report, Wells Fargo knocks Citi out of way and buys Wachovia - 10/03/08 07:27 AM
Dow points lower, NASDAQ as well. MBS open up 9bp ahead of the jobs number.
More to come after the jobs report is released.
… (3 comments)

Tomorrows a huge day, here's the gameplan - 10/02/08 10:12 PM
We've had, to say the least, a very interesting week. The markets have gone to great length to prove how bipolar they are and just how volatile they can be. One 800 pound gorilla is the bailout plan that passed, didn't pass, was re-passed, and now on the table for the house to revisit tomorrow. This needs to be passed, if you want further dialog and dissection of this side of the issue:  http://www.scmortgagenetwork.com/cln_000001_mortgage_101.html
But now to the events of the day and the look ahead to tomorrow. Today's factor orders report fell by it's largest amount in 2 years while … (3 comments)

 

Clint Hammond

Columbia, SC

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Mortgage Network, Inc

Address: 7011 Garners Ferry Road, Columbia, SC, 29209

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