I am glad to see that there are many more mortgage professionals taking a step out there and providing mortgage market commentary.  While many are simply rehashing what they receive in scripts emailed to them, some have managed to truly demonstrate expertise and provide their own insights, something I have been doing for over two years now, though I bet most of you didn't know that because it was designed as a service for my clients, not other real estate and mortgage professionals.

Not to toot my own horn, but I think that a large part of the reason there are more mortgage professionals doing this is that they have seen what I have been writing on Lenderama, with my weekly Mortgage Market Updates there thanks to the invitation by Todd Carpenter.  Todd had asked if I wanted to write the weekly update because he had been reading what I had been writing on Florida Mortgage Daily, my running mortgage market commentary.  Some mortgage and real estate professionals also follow Florida Mortgage Daily on a regular basis, maybe even you have.

Whether or not you are following my mortgage blogging, you should know what is going on with mortgage rates on a regular basis, whether you are a real estate agent or any other related professional, and certainly if you are a mortgage professional.  There are a multitude of factors that go into that whole "lock or float" question, but most times the direction of mortgage rates can be forecast with a high degree of accuracy.  Nobody will ever get it right 100% of the time because of today's "information age", as news can change the picture in nanoseconds, but there are ways to be accurate 80-90% of the time, and you can certainly protect your clients quickly if news does change the picture.

So, just how much importance is there on working with a mortgage professional that understands the market, even puts out regular guidance on locking or floating rates?

That depends on the quality of the information, but it could save you thousands, or more.  However, it could cost hundreds if not thousands as well if the information is bad.  So, it really comes down to you and what you want to do, as with any other mortgage transaction. Do your research and find the mortgage professional that you think is best for you. Feel free to follow my market commentary as well, it is free of charge after all.