Good afternoon...
Banks are closed today (as you probably know) to celebrate Veteran's
Day. I'd like to say thank you to all vets for your service, courage, and
sacrifice, today and every day.
It's been a turbulent week in the markets, with the Dow taking some big
swings on the pendulum. But as far as I saw, the bond markets didn't
rally much at all despite all the turmoil in Europe. The treasury market
auctions were a bit weaker. Interest rates stayed about the same.
However, with the European crisis continuing, a weak job market, low
consumer confidence, and another S&P downgrade of US debt, will
continue to keep rates low. There might be an increase on Monday.
Let's just say that there's a better chance of them increasing (it's really
how the economy will get better) than them decreasing.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have asked Congress for an additional
$14 billion in bailout. They already owe over $151 billion to the Treasury.
I don't know when this spigot will dry up, but it's important to remember
that taxpayers will be on the hook for this money. There needs to be a
move back the private sector for investment in mortgages. These GSE's
currently own over 90% of all mortgages. It's not a winning scenario.
Rates are holding steady, with the 30 year fixed between 4.125%-4.375%.
For Jumbo, it's right around 4.625%. ARM's are anywhere from 3.875%
to 2.875%, for both conforming AND Jumbo. One program to note is the
10 year Jumbo ARM, which is has dropped again, and is now in the
3.375%-3.5% range, depending on the loan scenario.
Our Purchase Special continues, and our Mortgage Advantage
program keeps increasing in popularity. Please let me know if you have
any questions.
Have a great weekend,
Comments(0)