mortgage loan rates: How Falling Gas Prices May Stave Off Recession - 10/11/08 02:15 AM
Given the stock market's recent performance, it's not surprising that gasoline's falling prices are garnering very little attention. That doesn't make it any less relevant, however.
Since peaking in July, gas prices are off by 20 percent.
Falling gas prices are an important positive for the U.S. economy because less money spent … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Looking Back And Looking Ahead : October 6, 2008 - 10/07/08 01:06 AM
Congress approved the $700 billion "Bailout Bill" Friday, answering the question that dogged mortgage markets all week long:
Will they or won't they pass it?
The uncertainty prior to the vote created huge market swings that ultimately sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst week since the 2001 … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Comparing Payback Periods On 15-Year, 20-Year and 30-Year Mortgages - 09/15/08 03:56 AM
On all principal + interest home loans, the first few years of payments include a lot more money going to interest than to principal.
This is because mortgage loans repayment schedules are front-loaded with interest, meaning large-volume principal reduction won't occur until late in the mortgage loan lifecycle.
Comparing products at a … (5 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Why The Government's Takeover Of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Is Lowering Mortgage Rates - 09/14/08 12:46 AM
When comparing two investments with equal risk, a rational person will choose the investment with a higher rate of return.
This behavior is called Risk Aversion and is a basic tenet of personal investing.
An off-shoot of Risk Aversion is that a rational person will only invest in an instrument of … (2 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Mortgage Rates Fall As The Unemployment Rate Rises - 09/05/08 04:59 PM
On the first Friday of every month, the government releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report.
More commonly called the "jobs report", the two-page analysis examines the nooks and crannies of the U.S. economy to see which industries are hiring and which are firing.
The August jobs report was released this morning … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: See How Mortgage loan Rates Are Trending With Oil Prices - 09/03/08 01:04 PM
Mortgage loan rates are hugely important to household budgets.
Lower mortgage rates free up household cash for spending and long- and short-term saving.
Higher mortgage loan rates, of course, do the opposite.
Unfortunately, it's impossible to predict the future of mortgage rates with any bit of certainty. This is because … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: How Labor Day Weekend Complicates Mortgage Rate Shopping - 08/29/08 05:39 PM
As we get closer to Labor Day, volume on Wall Street is dwindling as market players get a head start on their long weekend.
Today could be a difficult day to shop for mortgage rates. Expect volatility.
This is because mortgage rates are based on the price of mortgage bonds and, on … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Where are Mortgage Loan Rates headed the week? - 08/25/08 07:22 PM
Momentum carried mortgage loan markets through a week of low trading volume and few economic releases. Rates were volatile, but ended the week unchanged overall.
Don't let the word "unchanged" fool you, however.
From day-to-day last week, mortgage loan rates covered a huge range and it was only coincidence that Friday ended where … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: How Russia Invading Georgia Can Change Your Mortgage Loan Rates... - 08/14/08 06:23 PM
The connection between the world's political events and mortgage rates here at home is not always clear, but Russia's invasion of Georgia provides a strong working lesson.
Georgia is a former Soviet republic on the eastern shores of the Black Sea. Oil pipelines within its territory supply about 1 percent of the … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: How To Make Sense Of The Pending Home Sales Index - 08/12/08 06:36 PM
When home sellers accepts a contract on MLS-listed property, the property's official status changes from "Active" to "Pending".
By measuring the number of "Pending" homes nationwide, the National Association of Realtors® publishes its once-monthly Pending Homes Sales Index.
The real estate industry group positions the report as a predictor of future home … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Should you lock your rate before the Fed's press release today? - 08/05/08 11:45 AM
The Federal Open Market Committee meets today and is widely expected to hold the Federal Funds Rate at 2.000 percent.
This does not mean that mortgage rates will stay flat, too, however.
The Fed Funds Rate is a different type of interest rate from the ones charged to American homeowners for their … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Stuck in quagmire, Fed most likely won’t raise rates - 08/04/08 06:22 PM
In a week in which stock markets moved 1 percent or more on four separate days, mortgage markets displayed a relative calmness that helped pull rates lower.
It was the second consecutive week that mortgage rates improved.
Last week's biggest story came Monday when the housing bill was passed into law. … (0 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Changing Mortgage Guidelines Impact Buyers Of Second Homes And Investment Properties - 08/01/08 03:38 PM
Conforming mortgage guidelines are the Home Loan Rule Book, delineating between applicants that approved for a mortgage and those that do not.
Effective today, the rule book just got a little bit tougher.
According to Fannie Mae, homeowners converting their primary residence into a second home or investment property will … (5 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: How Falling Gas Prices May Increase Your Home Purchasing Power - 07/30/08 10:51 PM
Falling gas prices is doing more than saving Americans money at the pump -- it's also helping to pressure mortgage loan rates lower.
Mortgage rates had spiked between mid-June and mid-July, mostly because economists identified inflationary signals in the U.S. economy.
The largest signal, of course, was the ever-rising cost to … (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: What will Mortgage Rates Do This Week? - 07/28/08 04:51 PM
On the wave of a two-day rally, mortgage rates improved last week overall. This despite a Friday reversal that had caused rates to tick higher just before weekend house-hunting began.
And, like so many other weeks this year, last week's mortgage market activity was defined by its quick-moving interest rates.
… (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Why Are Home Buyers Coming Back To The Market Now? There's Suddenly Good Value In Real Estate. - 07/25/08 04:47 PM
Statistics won't always tell the whole story, but they often provide good perspective.
The graph at right shows Existing Home Sales data going back three years. An "existing home" is one that can't be called new construction; a "used home", so to speak.
Note the steep decline from 2005 through … (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: What's going on with Mortgage rates? - 07/21/08 07:13 PM
Mortgage rates soared last week as mortgage markets experienced a 4-day freefall.
By the end of the trading week, conforming mortgage rates had jumped by as much as 0.500 percent.
The spike in rates can't be pinned on any one factor, but 3 contributing factors include:
The lingering impact of … (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: The "Sheep Effect" On Your Housing Payment - 07/10/08 12:02 AM
A noon-hour, mortgage-bond rally rendered homes more affordable for Americans Tuesday. It was the second straight day on which this happened.
On both days, the action was swift.
The speed at which Monday's and Tuesday's respective rallies tore through mortgage markets illustrates how deep the uncertainty that surrounds the U.S. economy … (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: What's up with interest rates this week? - 07/07/08 11:50 PM
Last week was fairly uneventful in the mortgage markets, with rates slightly edging lower across the board and without much data to influence trading.
Even Thursday morning's hotly-anticipated jobs report was met with lukewarm interest; many traders had already left for the weekend.
Mortgage rates just drifted -- a little up and … (2 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: How Job Losses In The Economy Are Helping Home Affordability! - 07/04/08 02:59 PM
On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report.
More commonly, it's called the "jobs report".
The jobs report is a sector-by-sector look into the U.S. economy and whether businesses are hiring -- or firing -- workers. This is one of the reasons why … (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Why Mortgage Rates Could Fall Because Of Midwestern Farmers - 07/01/08 07:59 PM
As flood waters ran through Iowa and other Midwestern states, the nation's corn supply was thought to be in danger.
Prices spiked in the wake of the floods, adding to the already-peaking grocery bills that many Americans are now bearing.
But yesterday, in a surprise report, the Agriculture Department said that … (2 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Where are Interest Rates Heading? - 06/30/08 09:00 PM
Mortgage rates improved last week, marking the first time since mid-May that has happened.
The rate drop is the result of how mortgage markets interpreted the Federal Reserve's Wednesday press release.
In it, the Fed said:
Inflation pressures should lessen soon
Growth should remain steady this year
The credit market is … (3 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Looking Back And Looking Ahead : June 23, 2008 - 06/23/08 08:20 PM
Mortgage rates edged higher for the fifth straight week and the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now at a 10-month high.
One reason why rates are spiking is because the temporary jolt from higher energy and food costs is starting to look like a longer-term trend.
For example, high energy prices get a … (2 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: The Midwest Flooding And Its Impact On Your Mortgage Loan - 06/20/08 06:52 PM
Flooding in the Midwest has displaced thousands of families and caused billions of dollars in damages.
It may also cause mortgage rates to rise.
As the extent of the damage becomes more clear, prices for grain and livestock are soaring. For example, a host of dietary staples are suddenly more expensive … (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: What You Need To Know About Mortgage Loan Rate Quotes - 06/19/08 02:23 PM
Home buyers are often surprised when a "rate quote" from the morning won't be honored in the afternoon. Sometimes, the assumption is that the loan officer is just being sneaky.
This couldn't be less true.
Rate quotes change in the middle of the day because mortgage markets are in constant flux. All … (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: The Counties In Which Home Prices Are Rising - 05/08/08 09:20 PM
When real estate news is reported on television or in the papers, it's usually told as a national story. Unfortunately, stories like these aren't helpful for everyday Americans because real estate is not a national market.
Real estate is local.
The graph above was used by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke … (4 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Why Mortgage rates aren't falling even though the economy is shedding jobs? - 05/03/08 12:32 AM
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy shed 20,000 jobs in April 2008. The labor force now counts at 146 million people as employed. Normally, a loss of jobs would foretell economic weakness and would be a good thing for mortgage rate shoppers. Today, though, traders had been expecting … (1 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: The 80/20 Rule Applies To Foreclosures - 04/29/08 11:15 PM
RealtyTrac released Q1 2008 foreclosure statistics and the data follows an interesting statistical phenomenon most commonly known as the "80/20 Rule". The 80/20 Rule states that 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes. In this case, 80 percent of bank repossessions in the first three months … (9 comments)
|
mortgage loan rates: Mortgage Loan rate weekly update... - 04/29/08 03:36 AM
Mortgage markets lost ground last week on inflation concerns and a general feeling that "the worst may be over" on Wall Street. As investors moved money into the stock market, mortgage rates ticked higher for the second straight week. The biggest story from last week was the rising cost of gasoline. Rising energy … (2 comments)
|
;)
Links;)
Archives
