Market Snap Shot - 1/21/2008

The markets are closed today in celebration of MLK Jr's Birthday. Mortgages rates improved last week due to weak economic news and the uncertainty of the future. This week we see 3 economic reports with a moderate impact on mortgage rates: Initial Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales and Crude Inventories. These are all on Thursday, so watch for potential rate changes due to investors reactions on Wednesday and Thursday.

Par today on a 30 year fixed rate loan is 5.375% and 4.875% on a 5/1 ARM for the best borrowers.

These are interesting times. Mortgage rates are back to historic lows, but underwriting guidelines have tightened enough to where many will not be able to enjoy these rates. However, that said, there are some incredible programs available that can help many borrowers to refinance or get into a new home. These include FHA, USDA Guaranteed Rural Home loans and the PITI Abatement program.

As the Fed, Congress and our President work to providing an economic recovery plan, it will be interesting to see how this effects rates. Remember, a booming economy is usually bad for mortgage rates as is inflation. Time will also tell if much of the bad news is from lenders and investors writing off all of the bad debt now, rather then stretching it out over time.

In Oregon, we're seeing an interesting statistic, either we're still showing an increase of property values or a decrease, depending on how you read the figures. PMI has a new report on the nations Economic Real Estate Trends. Page 6 gives a breakdown of how the major markets are doing in comparison to 3 rd quarter 06 and 07, along with their Market Risk Index. Portland shows a decrease of 10.57% in rate of appreciation, but a 6.06% actual appreciation. So, while the trend is property values losing ground, we're still seeing realistic property appreciation. The only major markets with greater appreciation are Austin, San Antonio, Charlotte, Seattle and Nashville. Only time will tell if we are just getting back to normal or if this is a nasty downward trend.

Larry Morris is a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (CMPS) with Equipoint Financial Network in Newberg, Oregon. He specializes in Senior Citizen financing and Rural properties. He is a Board Member of the Sherwood Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at larry.morris@equipoint.com . His website is www.PDX-Mortgage.com .

This material is copy protected 2008by Larry Morris, Mortgage News that Matters. All Rights Reserved His opinions do not necessarily represent the views of Equipoint Financial Network.

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