Mortgage Rate Rise? Maybe Not, Markets Brace for Home Prices and Cosumer Cofidence Today - 08/30/11 09:07 AM
 I am looking for the markets to give back what they have gained over the past few up sessions. Remember that an up session usually, not always, means Mortgage rate are rising as well
Treasuries are rebounding from Monday's losses and the equity rally looks a bit overdone, at least until investors have a chance to look at this morning's home price and consumer confidence data.
The two-year Treasury yield is flat at 0.20%, the 10-year yield is five basis points firmer at 2.21%, and the 30-year yield is five basis points firmer at 3.55%.
Equity futures are taking away from … (0 comments)

Mortgage Rates Rise: The Week Ahead - 08/29/11 09:08 AM
If you need any advice or help with a Mortgage I am here to help. There are many government programs to help you with a mortgage that may be underwater. (No pun intended for those of us in the Northeast) If a loan can get done I can do it for you. Email me any question you may have, pre-qualifications in minutes:
Jon Starr
jstarr@westtownsb.com
732-361-4923
The Week Ahead: Markets Upbeat, Surge in Data Coming Lots of important data on the calendar will inform the direction of this week's financial markets. The highlight is Friday's employment report for August, anticipated to … (0 comments)

How Long Will Mortgage Rates Stay Low? - 08/23/11 01:24 PM
How long will mortgage rates stay low?? Anyone? You know as well as I do that no one really has the answer, but if your believe the government they will stay low for the next 2 years, yea right. No one can predict where the economy, both US and World, inflation, rates, and really anything else. I am sure half the people are right sometimes. I am looking at an extended slump in the housing market something I am sure you all know. A slower the expected recovery and maybe even a double dip recession.
We need 3 things, more spendable … (0 comments)

Rates Up MBS's Down Market Up Roller Coaster Continues - 08/22/11 09:45 AM
Hope you had a great weekend and are ready for another stomach turning roller coaster of a week. We could have a great week for the economy or  a wild up and down week lake we had last week. I looked for the experts to give me some direction over the weekend and after reading 6 different articles I got 12 different opinions. Rate are great still. I am closing FHA 30 year at 4%, conventional 30 year at 4.125% with no points.
 
Key Events This Week:
Monday:
8:30 - The Chicago Fed's National Activity Index doesn't often receive much … (0 comments)

Global Worries Send Interest Down even further - 08/18/11 09:22 AM
OK folks I am now quoting a 30 year fixed at 4% with no points. I am doing refi at 4.25% with no closing cost. Holly cow the rates are so low and looks like it might go even lower.
Treasury prices are soaring and equity futures are tumbling and as a major equity sell-off in Europe has crossed the Atlantic, triggered by renewed concerns that major players in the global economy could dip back into recession.
The benchmark 10-year yield is eight basis points firmer at 2.09% and the 30-year yield is eight basis points lower at 3.48%. The two-year … (2 comments)

The Week Ahead: Inflation concerns? Housing Reports, Fed Speaks - 08/15/11 09:05 AM
Are we in for another wild ride this week? Is the volatility over? Only a fool would say yes for certain, but so far, markets are calm.
Treasury movements are relatively modest. The two-year yield is one basis point softer at 0.19%, the 10-year yield is two basis points firmer at 2.28%, and the 30-year yield is three basis points firmer at 3.75%. The Fannie Mae 4.0 MBS coupon is -1/32 at 104-07.
Equities are on the rise which, if sustained, would mark the third day of gains. S&P 500 futures are 5.75 points higher at 1,182.50and Dow futures are 34 … (0 comments)

Record Low Rates and Future Guidance - 08/12/11 09:15 AM
CURRENT MARKET*: The BestExecution 30-year fixed mortgage rate is between 4.000% and 4.250%. Several lenders are willing to offer 4.000%, 4.250% is widely available, and we've actually seen strong 3.875% quotes too. On FHA/VA 30 year fixed BestExecutionis 4.00%. Some lenders are willing to go as low as 3.75% without extra closing costs. 15 year fixed conventional loans are best priced at 3.625% but we're seeing aggressive quotes as low as 3.375%. Five year ARMs are still best priced at 3.25. ARMs seem to have bottomed out.
While many lenders have greatly improved their consumer rate quotes over the past few … (3 comments)

Mortgage Rates: Sharp Improvements - 08/11/11 07:12 AM
We experienced some wild price swings today but consumer borrowing costs improved in the end. In many cases those improvements were significant.
CURRENT MARKET*: The BestExecution 30-year fixed mortgage rate is between 4.00 and 4.250%. More lenders are willing to offer 4.00% and 4.125% is widely available. On FHA/VA 30 year fixed BestExecutionis 4.00%. Some lenders are willing to quote 3.875% without extra closing costs. 15 year fixed conventional loans are best priced at 3.625% but we're seeing aggressive quotes as low as 3.375%. Five year ARMs are still best priced at 3.25. ARMs seem to have bottomed out.
JS
… (5 comments)

Preparing to buy a house? - 08/10/11 12:39 PM
 
Preparing to Buy a Home
 
Decision of buying a home is one of the most important decisions of the life-time of an individual.                  
Buying a home mainly depends on how prepared you are during the process. A lot of research and thought goes into selecting your home and then purchasing it at a suitable price. Below are a few guidelines to consider before buying a home.
Reasons for buying a home            
The first question you need to ask yourself is why are you buying a house? Do not simply use reasons like 'Everyone … (0 comments)

Mortgage Rates Best Execution - 08/10/11 08:55 AM
Best Execution rates based on National Averages.
 
… (0 comments)

Mortgage Rates Heading Towards All Time Lows - 08/10/11 08:28 AM
For those of you anywhere near New Jersey there a huge roller coaster that goes from o to 128 MPH is 3.1 seconds and shoots straight up 40 stories then straight down 40 stories, well to me that's what the markets have been doing. After the announcement yesterday that the government will be keeping short term interest artificially low for the next 2 years the bond markets rallied to the point that the 10 year Treasury hit 2.02% yield at one point but finished at 2.26% yield. This morning every indicator shows that this will continue and that the MBS  (Mortgage … (2 comments)

Mortgage rates near all time lows - 08/09/11 02:26 PM
As you all know we are on this rollercoaster called the US economy for the past few years and nothing has been as crazier than the last week.  We say a major correction in the stock market yesterday and an expected uptick today. Treasuries and Mortgage Backed Securities have been riding a 7 day streak of positive movement. Rates have come down as much as .5% over the past 2 weeks. What I am surprised is how well the 3-year Treasury Auction did today and how we have seen a reversal of the down MBS market that is starting to move … (0 comments)

Key Economic Events this Week - 08/08/11 12:47 PM
Key Events This Week:
Monday:
No significant economic events today but the Treasury will issue debt for the first time since being downgraded to AA+ by Standard & Poor's.
Treasury Auctions:
11:30 - 3-Month Bills
11:30 - 6-Month Bills
Tuesday:
8:30 - It's well-known the Productivity & Costs report won't be a harbinger of optimism. Second-quarter growth was just 1.3%, slower than anticipated, which means unit labor costs, which are calculated based on output, were on the rise from April to June while productivity was minimal or in decline.
The median estimate is for a 0.8% drop in productivity and a … (2 comments)

Weekly News Letter Markets in turmoil - 08/08/11 09:22 AM
Week ofAugust 7,2011MortgageMarketCommentaryUnless you’ve been hiding in a cave, you’ve probably seen the tumultuous financial news over the lastweek. While the world watched, the US government extended its borrowing authority, and there wasa collective sigh. Before everyone caught their breath, the US stock markets went into a freefall.Global money managers poured cash into US Treasuries, driving mortgage rates downward in a hurry.Then the Labor Dept. announced a greater-than-expected increase in jobs, and markets began torecover, with rates moving back upward quickly. Financial markets closed on Friday, but thefinancial news continued to flow, with S&P downgrading the US debt for the first … (0 comments)

Better then expected Payroll Sends MBS Market down Shaprly Mortgage Rates Up - 08/05/11 09:01 AM
(Reuters) - U.S. job growth accelerated more than expected in July as private employers stepped up hiring, a development that could ease fears the economy was sliding into a fresh recession. U.S. payrolls increased 117,000, the Labor Department said on Friday, above market expectations for an 85,000 gain. The unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent from 9.2 percent in June, but this was mostly the result of people leaving the labor force. The payrolls count for May and June was revised to show 56,000 more jobs added than previously reported The report was the first encouraging piece of economic data in … (2 comments)

Rates Rally: Short Covering, Stocks sell Off - 08/04/11 03:29 PM
Short covering has played a pivotal role in the surprisingly strong rates rally we've enjoyed over the past 5 sessions.We have seen as much as .375% drop in rates over the past 5 sessions.
"Short covering" is when a bearish trader closes a position that was opened with the intention of capitalizing on lower prices/higher yields. The term "short" describes the trader's directional bias. "Covering" simply means closing the position. The resulting effect of short covering is a contraction in "open interest", which represents the number of open contracts in the marketplace. If a trader has set a short position and … (0 comments)

Current Mortgage Rates - 08/04/11 10:15 AM
 
I hope you all have been paying attention to the markets and where rates have gone. The rates that I am posting are a national average and are for best execution your clients rates may be higher or lower.
… (2 comments)

MBS improve even farther, Mortgage Rates continue to decline - 08/04/11 08:55 AM
 
OK so where are we? Well the MBS markets are showing strength this morning again on the jobs data that was just released. Look for additional positive mortgage rates decreases today. For those of you who still think things will get better as far as mortgage rates I have a word of advice: At this time I have 37 mortgage application in process and only a few are locked, I plan of taking the rest of today and locking in what my clients have and want. Remember that mortgage application process is not a 1 week event. If you think … (0 comments)

Mortgage rates hit new 2011 Lows - 08/03/11 04:45 PM
Mortgage rates rallied again today and consumer borrowing costs drifted a little lower. What a rally it has been. I locked a client this afternoon at 4.25% on a FHA loan.
Deciding whether or not to lock a loan between now and the "high-risk" event on Friday is pure speculation (Employment Situation Report). As I have said so many times if you or your client is happy with the rate lock it. If you know how that's going to turn out ahead of time and how the market will react, or if you just don't mind losing money in exchange for … (1 comments)

Mortgage Applications Up 7.1% - Refi +7.3% - 08/03/11 08:58 AM
Treasury rates plummeted more than 20 basis points last week as all eyes were focused on the debt ceiling negotiations in Washington, and economic data depicted much slower than anticipated economic growth," said Michael Fratantoni, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics. "Mortgage rates fell, with the rate on 15-year mortgages reaching a new low in our survey. Refinance application volume increased, but even though 30-year mortgage rates are back below 4.5 percent, the refinance index is still almost 30 percent below last year's level. Factors such as negative equity and a weak job market continue to constrain borrowers. Purchase activity … (0 comments)

Current Mortgage Rates - 08/02/11 11:56 AM
Mortgage rates continue to improve. MBS market continues to rally.
Primary Mortgage Markets … (0 comments)

Debt Ceiling Deal Signed, MBS and Treasuries Spike, Mortgage Rates Low - 08/02/11 08:49 AM
Well after a wild weekend on the debt ceiling they decided to kick the can down the road a little farther. MBS's and Treasuries are at the lowest point in a long time and mortgage rates are the best I have seen in months. If you look at the bright side maybe now that we have this debt ceiling issues settled for now maybe we can get back to low interest rates and start moving forward with the real estate markets.
After a great day yesterday the MBS Markets are opening strong with the FNMA 3.5 up another .13 at 98-19, … (1 comments)

 
Jon Starr (West Town Savings Bank)

Jon Starr

New Canaan, CT

More about me…

West Town Savings Bank

Address: 198 RT 9 North, Manalapan, NJ, 07726

Office Phone: (732) 361-4923

Cell Phone: (203) 803-6433

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