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economy: My New Responsibility at Province Mortgage - Tracking Interest Rates - 04/30/10 12:58 PM
Over the 5 years I've been a member of the team at Province Mortgage Associates, the company has grown considerably. We started with 9 loan officers, and 3 support staff, and have more than doubled in that time.
As of the beginning of April, I've taken on a new responsibility at Province emailing my colleagues a daily interpretation of relevant financial and economic news, along with rate advice. I thought I'd post today's update as a sample of this work, to give you an idea of what I've been doing lately:
A slow day today after slightly lower than expected … (0 comments)
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economy: 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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economy: Tulips & Mortgages: Centuries apart, and yet eerily similar - 04/19/08 10:12 PM
From time to time, an asset, or a class of assets, will become so popular among investors that its value will grow to exceed the inherent value of the asset. This event is referred to as a financial bubble, as it is perceived that values become over-inflated, and must eventually deflate. Historically, this has happened dozens of times to a greater or lesser extent, with the best remembered occurrence being the Internet Bubble of the late 1990's.
The first recorded bubble occurred in the tulip trade in Holland in the early 17th century. An affliction struck a very small proportion of … (2 comments)
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economy: 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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economy: 2008 Economic Outlook Breakfast: Opinions Negative, Research & Technology Key to RI Emergence - 02/27/08 09:35 AM
I attended the Sovereign Bank Economic Outlook Breakfast this morning at the Providence Westin. This is the 3rd year I've attended this event, and each year seems to bring a larger crowd. The event's purpose is to unveil the results of a survey conducted in the 4th quarter of the year among consumers and business leaders with which the bank has relationships. My biggest disappointment of the day was Governor Donald Carcieri's absence; he has spoken, albeit briefly at each of the last 2 events, and I was hoping to bring you some low-quality cell phone video of his speech, but … (2 comments)
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economy: Fed Cuts Rates, but Mortgage Rates Go Up? - 02/25/08 10:59 AM
CNN this morning reported on a new "conundrum" faced by the Federal Reserve. Industry veterans will recall 2-3 years ago when then Fed Chief Alan Greenspan noted the unfathomable disconnect between bond yields and Fed rate moves. Now Ben Bernanke is faced with the prospect of his moves having a similar, if opposite, effect on long term rates.
Since January 8th, the Fed has cut short-term rates by 1.25%, yet long-term rates have barely budged, with ten-year treasuries declining a mere 5 basis points (0.05%) from 3.84% to 3.79% Friday. What conclusion can be drawn from this? Basically, I think we're looking … (2 comments)
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economy: $729,750 is the New Jumbo: Update - 02/25/08 10:51 AM
Last week, we received word from one of our lenders regarding their interpretation of the new Jumbo mortgage rules included with the economic stimulus plan. Here's what will be happening:
HUD will release Median Home Prices for the country within the next 30 daysConventional limits will increase to the higher of the current limit of $417,000 or 125% of the median area home price, not to exceed $729,750FHA limits will increase to 125% of the median area home price, not to exceed $729,750Loans can be purchased that were closed from 1 July 2007 through the program's end 31 December 2008So now we … (0 comments)
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economy: US Presidents' Housing Achievments (and a rate update) - 02/18/08 11:02 AM
Good morning!
This Presidents' Day is a wet and windy one here in Rhode Island. Today, in addition to a brief interest-rate market recap and preview, I thought I'd bring you a history of significant events in United States housing history, and the Presidents who effected those changes.
In 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which allowed anyone who had never raised arms against the United States to claim title to up to 160 acres of undeveloped land in the west by following a simple, 3-step process. This was one of the first steps in opening homeownership to African-Americans.
Franklin … (0 comments)
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economy: Rates on a Bungee Cord - 02/11/08 12:52 PM
Last week held out my expectation that the market is looking to move long-term interest rates higher, as rates increased close to 0.25% from Monday to Friday. There was a substantial disappointment with service industry growth Tuesday, which led markets to open with lower rates, but as the day wore on, they edged higher. Later in the week, Jobless claims indicated some improvement over the prior week's dismal numbers, again pushing rates higher.
If I were looking for a metaphor to describe the long-term rate market right now, I'd have to say it is looking a lot like a bungee cord: … (0 comments)
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economy: $729,750: The New Jumbo (for now) - 02/11/08 12:27 PM
That's right, the economic stimulus package will be in effect shortly, and with it will come the ability for Government Sponsored Entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), to increase their loan purchase limits significantly in higher cost areas. Sure, more of us are thinking about the $600 or $1200 check we're getting back as part of this (flat-panel TV anyone?), but for those who own higher value homes, this potentially means two more important things:
Easier to refinance to a better loanMore buyers can get better financing to buyFor homeowners and homebuyers considering pricier … (2 comments)
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economy: This week's econmic updates -- Could rates be 1% higher by June? - 02/04/08 11:20 AM
Good morning!
After a very busy couple of weeks, expect this week to be much quieter. Like Punxatawney Phil (who saw his shadow, and is back to sleep for another 6 weeks), the market looks to be substantially quieter this week than it was last week.
Here's a quick rundown of economic news expected this week:
Monday: December Factory OrdersTuesday: Chain Store Sales / Redbook Index / ISM ServicesWednesday: Productivity & Labor Costs / Mortgage Applications / Consumer ComfortThursday: Initial Jobless Claims Friday: Weekly Leading IndexOf this economic news, only Thursday's Initial Jobless Clams figure promises to have any meaningful impact on … (3 comments)
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economy: Rollercoaster updates; Radio Tomorrow! - 02/01/08 04:47 PM
Good evening!
I hope your week was as interesting as mine was. After taking all of last week off for vacation, there's nothing like coming back to the flu to get off to a good start. The market certainly made it worth hanging in and watching.
Earlier this week, I told you there was a whole calendar of economic data to contend with this week. Here's how things turned out:
Monday: New Home Sales ACTUAL: 604,000 / ESTIMATED: 645,000 = BADTuesday: Consumer Confidence A: 87.9 / E: 87.0 = GOOD / Durable Goods A: +5.2% / E: 2.0% = GOODWednesday: Gross Domestic … (3 comments)
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economy: 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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economy: 10-year and Mortgage Rates Diverge; why Treasuries =/= Mortgages - 10/01/07 08:16 PM
I've been noticing an interesting change in markets lately. Historically, the spread, or difference, between 30-year mortage rates and 10-year treasury notes has been approximately 1.5%, however, recently that spread has increased to approximately 1.85%, an increase of about 3/8%.
This chart clearly illustrates that increase, using data from Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage survey. Of course, many mortgage advisors, especially subscribers to the Mortgage Market Guide, will tell you that mortgage rates are not directly connected to Treasury rates. I think the recent divergence clearly illustrates that to be correct.
What has happened, starting in July, is that mortgages have been … (0 comments)
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economy: Big miss on jobs leads to lower rates - 09/07/07 10:56 AM
Many investors were surprised today by the results of the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Report. While the ADP report on Tuesday had suggested potential weakness in hiring, the BLS report indicates that the economy lost ground in employment last month, and that the good growth seen in July and June was actually significantly less than expected.In response to this, stocks traded more than 1% lower on all major exchanges, and investors flocked to relatively secure US Treasury bills, depressing the yield of the 10-year treasury by more than 1/8% to 4.36% from yesterday's close at 4.5%.The 10-year treasury is … (1 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
Email Me
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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