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bernanke: Mortgage - Treasury Spread Closes as Homebuyer Incentives Suggest Home Prices May Stabilize - 03/12/09 04:03 PM
February was a significant month for the mortgage and real estate markets, as a massive bailout package was signed into law, and further talk of foreclosure prevention efforts at the federal level reassured mortgage investors of the safety of their investments. An $8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers sparked hope for increased home sales in 2009, both for starter homes and condominiums, as well as for so called "move-up" homes needed by those current homeowners able to sell into the current market and purchase significantly discounted replacement homes.
Entering March, the Mortgage - Treasury spread reached its lowest point since June, … (1 comments)
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bernanke: Mortgage - Treasury Spread closes sharply in January - is Fed buying bringing stability? - 02/12/09 10:19 AM
In a month which saw the lowest 30-year fixed rates on record, it isn't surprising that the massive groundswell of refinancing we experienced happened. Its consequences could also be seen as quite predictable: lenders, fresh from laying off thousands of employees in 2008, saw their operations grind to a halt as they received an onslaught of mortgage applications. The reprecussions to market interest rates were rather more cryptic, though. By the end of January, the Mortgage-Treasury Spread had closed to its tightest range since September, 2008, closing the month at 2.28%.
The 10-week moving average stayed relatively level at 2.78%, bouyed … (4 comments)
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bernanke: It's the Innuendo, Not the Actions - 06/25/08 07:16 AM
The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will adjourn its first meeting of the Summer today, and is expected to make an announcement at 2:15 PM regarding its decision to raise or lower interest rates. At this point, virtually no one in the investing world expects the Fed to make any changes to policy at this point; rather Wall St. will be listening very closely to the specific wording used by the FOMC in today's brief announcement.
You might be asking, though, if the Fed is leaving things as they are, why should this affect other interest rates, especially mortgage rates?
In … (5 comments)
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bernanke: Mortgage / Treasury Spread Widens, On Average - 04/21/08 02:48 PM
Mortgage rates moved up sharply as last week drew to a close, propelled by a string of positive news out of Wall Street. Several major banks reported colossal losses, yet, because these losses were less than the even more colossal losses that had been expected, the stock market reacted by increasing over 4% on the week, taking wind out of the sails of bonds. Remember that when bonds fall, yields, or rates, increase, and on the week we saw between .25% and .375% increase in rates on most mortgages.
We've seen a few months now of a higher-than-normal spread between 30-year … (0 comments)
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bernanke: Rates improve sharply - will it hold? - 03/03/08 11:27 AM
Last week was just what many loan officers and borrowers were looking for: a week of sharp improvements in rates. What we saw was a substantial "flight-to-quality" as investors shied away from stocks and moved their money into safer treasury bonds. This was triggered by several reports indicating higher than expected inflation, and reaffirming slow economic growth. Chairman Bernanke's comments to congress also supported the weakening of the economy, but reaffirmed the Fed's commitment to encourage growth.
The challenge is a pheonmenon called "Stagflation".
Stagflation is said to occur when economic growth is shrinking, or stagnating, and inflation is increasing. The challenge … (3 comments)
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bernanke: Bernanke speaks to congress - 02/14/08 12:55 PM
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson joined Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke in congress today, and said that they don't expect the US economy to experience a recession in 2008, rather they see slowing growth, with a total increase of 1.8% over the 2007 Gross Domestic Product increase.
The market was not impressed.
Long-term rates had already started to move higher late yesterday, and they continued today, pushing many quoted 30-year fixed mortgage rates to 6.0% or higher. Meanwhile, the stock market moved lower, with all 3 major indices off by about 1%.
The Chief did indicate he was ready to cut rates … (0 comments)
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bernanke: If you thought last week was a roller coaster. . . - 01/28/08 09:48 AM
The week of January 21, 2008 was one of the more exciting weeks I have seen on the market in quite some time, and that comes with being just a 4 business day week. Of course, most of us around here worked Monday, also; I didn't. I'd planned vacation for the entire week for more than a month.
By the end of the week, we'd seen a degree of volatility in the stock and interest rate markets that hadn't been seen in a long time. Here's a quick recap of some highlights:
Tuesday saw the Dow open down more than 3%, … (21 comments)
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Dan Hartman
Providence,
RI
More about me…
Province Mortgage Associates - (401) 263-8655
Address: 10 Davol Sq, Providence, RI, 02903
Office Phone: (401) 490-4400 x 114
Cell Phone: (401) 263-8655
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Dan Hartman's Blog about mortgages, real estate, and the economy in New England, and the United States, especially Rhode Island Rates, Connecticut Mortgages, Massachusetts Rate Locks, and New Hampshire Home Sales. Let Dan leverage his MBA in Finance and experience as a college professor for you!
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