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jobless: Mortgage - Treasury Spread Remains Near Peak for December 2008; Fed Action Awaited - 01/02/09 02:53 PM
The Mortgage-Treasury Spread remained near its highest ever level in December, as investors retreaed into the safest available investments to close 2008.  Treasury instruments of all maturities saw one of the biggest demand spikes in their history, a sign that risk tolerance was negligible this month.  Throughout the month of December, the spread remained largely unchanged from its December 4th level, closing the year at 2.86%.  This is down slightly from the December 4th spread at 2.96%  The historic low treasury yields reached in December are instrumental to the high spread, as mortgage rates dropped through the month to historically low … (0 comments)

jobless: 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)

jobless: 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)

jobless: 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)

jobless: 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)

 

Dan Hartman

Providence, RI

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Province Mortgage Associates - (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! Locations of visitors to this page Site Meter


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