Well the emails have started trickling in over the last couple of days. The latest change for the lending side is lenders are eliminating short term ARMs. Commonly referred to as a 2/28. This means the rate is fixed for the first two years and then adjusts thereafter. The advantage was for some clients they could receive a start rate much lower than a 30 year fixed rate, giving them 2 years to rebuild or repair credit. After 2 years of paying a reduced payment they could refinance into a lower rate or it served as a way to hold  property for 2 years until capital gains are up. Some lenders are still offering a 3/27 as of now but I think the trend will be to return to 5 yr and longer ARMs. Along with this change, subprime rates jumped on average approximately .25-.40 across the board.

As for better news, many of the larger lenders have changed their guidelines to allow homeowners who have had their home listed for sale, to refinance the equity. This is to capture some of the business from people who are trying to juggle 2 payments or have decided to stay in their home after being dissappointed by the market. Many lenders wouldnt allow this in the past if the property was listed in the past 6 months.