mortgage rates: Markets Ignore The April Jobs Report And That’s Good News For Mortgage Rates - 05/07/10 07:12 AM
 
On the first Friday of every month, the U.S. government releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report. 
More commonly called "the jobs report", Non-Farm Payrolls is a major market mover. The number of working Americans is directly tied to the health of the economy which, in turn, drives the stock and bond markets.
In general, when jobs numbers improve, it's good for stocks and bad for mortgage bonds. It follows, therefore, that conforming mortgage rates in California rise because rates always move opposite of mortgage bond prices.
Conversely, when jobs numbers worsen, it tends to be bad for stocks and good for … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : April 26, 2010 - 04/26/10 04:44 AM
Mortgage markets worsened last week in see-saw trading. By the time Friday's market closed, mortgage rates were higher across the board -- ARMs, fixed rates, FHA and conventional.
The biggest stories of last week were actually non-stories. 
First, the ash cloud from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano dissipated, allowing warehouses to move inventory, airlines to move people, and businesses to move product.  In addition, Greece moved closer to securing emergency funding that will help it stave off default.
When these two issues were threats earlier in the month, mortgage bonds rallied on safe haven buying, driving rates down. As the threats lessened over … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: How Iceland's Volcanoes Are Helping Mortgage Rates Fall - 04/21/10 02:24 AM
 
Mortgage rates and home affordability have improved lately, thanks to an unlikely ally -- Mother Nature.
In the 7 days since Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull erupted, ash clouds have grounded planes, disrupted businesses, and stranded exports in warehouses worldwide.
It's a drag on commerce that's spilled over onto Wall Street. As experts debate the potential for future seismic activity, traders are taking some of their investment risk off the table. 
In trading circles, it's called "safe haven buying". When the market gets cloudy, investors often move their cash into relatively safe assets.  This includes government-backed securities -- mortgage-bonds among them.
Demand for … (1 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : April 19, 2010 - 04/19/10 05:45 PM
 
Mortgage markets improved last week for the second week in a row.  And, also for the second week in a row, rates were down on "safe haven" buying -- just not for the same safe haven reasons as before.
If you'll remember, safe haven buying is when investors sense market risk, then move money toward less risky investments.
Well, because the U.S. government backs the bonds of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage bonds tend to fit the "less risky" description and as Iceland's volcanoes shut down air traffic in Europe, mortgage bonds benefited.
That was early in the week.
… (2 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : April 12, 2010 - 04/12/10 03:08 AM
 
Mortgage markets improved last week to the delight of rate shoppers.
Against a sparse economic calendar, Wall Street turned its attention to geopolitics in Greece and the Eurozone.  It didn't like what it saw. Safe haven buying buoyed mortgage bond markets last week as pricing recaptured two-thirds of its monumental losses from the week prior.
Despite last week's surge, however, conforming and FHA mortgage rates remain near their worst levels of the year and appear poised to increase throughout the summer months.
The U.S. economy is improving. From last week:
Pending Home Sales posted a strong monthly improvement Wholesale Trade … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : April 5, 2010 - 04/05/10 05:37 PM
Mortgage markets performed terribly last week as losses piled up day by day.  It marked the second straight week of sell-offs.
Pricing was influenced on several fronts including better-than-expected economic data, the end of the Federal Reserve's mortgage buyback program, and a short trading week.
Mortgage rates rose to their highest levels since late-December last week.
The data from the most anticipated story from last week -- the jobs report -- included a few good-for-the-economy surprises.
Although payrolls fell 22,000 short of expectations in March, they were boosted by +62,000 in net revisions from January and February "Temporary Employment" -- a … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : March 29, 2010 - 03/29/10 05:17 AM
Mortgage markets tanked last week, raising rates to their highest levels in a month. 
Most of the losses occurred Wednesday in what was the worst 1-day mortgage market performance in more than 6 months. Even Friday's rally could barely dent the losses. Most of the movement was tied to geopolitical concerns and worries of a ballooning federal debt load. 
The best time to lock a conventional or FHA mortgage rate last week was Tuesday morning.
This week, markets should remain volatile. There's a large set of economic data due for release, plus trading volume will thin as the week goes on … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : March 22, 2010 - 03/22/10 02:49 AM
Mortgage markets closed unchanged last week, but that's not say mortgage rates were calm. Monday through Wednesday, rates improved steadily before a swift, late-week sell-off unwound the gains.
Mortgage rates have been very low for a very long time -- against the expectations of most market experts.  The speed of the Thursday-Friday reversal may signal that markets are preparing for change.
One key story from last week was the Federal Open Market Committee's scheduled Tuesday meeting. Upon adjournment, the Fed voted 9-1 to hold the Fed Funds rate in its current target range near 0.000% and reiterated its plan to keep … (2 comments)

mortgage rates: For Clues About the Future of Mortgage Rates, Watch For Inflation - 03/20/10 03:57 AM
Homes are more affordable across the nation as the housing market emerges from a slow winter season with mortgage rates still near 5 percent.
Soft housing and low rates are an excellent combination for home buyers but whereas home values rise with a gradual pace, mortgage rates change in an instant.  It's something worth watching.
Each 0.25% increase to conventional or FHA rates adds approximately $16 per month for each $100,000 borrowed. Mortgage rate volatility can change your household budget.
If you're trying to gauge whether rates will be rising or falling, one keyword for which to listen is "inflation". Mortgage … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: A Rate-Locking Strategy For Today's Fed Meeting - 03/16/10 02:09 AM
The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from a scheduled 1-day meeting today, its second of the year. 
The FOMC has held the Fed Funds Rate in a target range of 0.000-0.250 percent since December 16, 2008, and the voting members of the Fed are expected to vote "no change" again today.
However, no change in the Fed Funds Rate doesn't necessarily mean no change in mortgage rates.  This is because the Fed Funds Rate is a different interest rate from the rates home buyers get from a loan officer. 
Fed Funds Rate : Short-term rate at which banks borrow from each … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : March 15, 2010 - 03/15/10 07:41 AM

Mortgage markets worsened last week with little economic news to push markets in either direction. Momentum trading and rebalancing of portfolios drove mortgage rates higher, on average.
FHA and conventional mortgage rates rose last week, marking the first time that's happened this month.
Mortgage rates have been on impressive run lately and mortgages are priced far better than what most experts predicted. Weaker-than-expected economic data is one reason why. Lack of economic data may be another.
This week, however, data returns.
Monday : Industrial Production and Home Builder Index Tuesday : Housing Starts and Building Permits Wednesday: Consumer Confidence Thursday : … (2 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : March 8, 2010 - 03/08/10 03:06 AM
Mortgage markets improved last week in low-volume trading. Between Monday to Thursday, Wall Street focused on the upcoming jobs reports and mortgage markets gained while traders jockeyed for position. Mortgage rates drifted lower through Thursday afternoon. But, then, after a better-than-expected Non-Farm Payrolls report Friday morning, mortgage markets -- and mortgage rates -- reversed. Overall, mortgage rates dropped last week, but only by a small margin. Rates were best Thursday afternoon. It was the second consecutive week in which mortgage rates fell. Last week was also interesting in that both stock markets and bond markets improved, proving that rates don't always … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : March 8, 2010 - 03/08/10 03:03 AM
Mortgage markets improved last week in low-volume trading. Between Monday to Thursday, Wall Street focused on the upcoming jobs reports and mortgage markets gained while traders jockeyed for position. Mortgage rates drifted lower through Thursday afternoon. But, then, after a better-than-expected Non-Farm Payrolls report Friday morning, mortgage markets -- and mortgage rates -- reversed. Overall, mortgage rates dropped last week, but only by a small margin. Rates were best Thursday afternoon. It was the second consecutive week in which mortgage rates fell. Last week was also interesting in that both stock markets and bond markets improved, proving that rates don't always … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : March 1, 2010 - 03/01/10 07:43 AM
Mortgage markets improved last week as economic reports painted a less-than-stellar portrait of the U.S. economy and concerns of a looming monetary policy change eased. Mortgage pricing improved dramatically, despite a late-Friday retreat.
Mortgage rates are now at their lowest levels since early-February.
Last week was heavy on negative data:
Consumer Confidence posted 16% short of expectations New Home Sales posted 13% short of expectations Initial Jobless Claims were higher than expected In addition, both the Case-Shiller and Home Price Indices showed a slight pullback in the housing sector.
The impact of these statistics was muted, however. This is because Fed … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: The jumbo mortgage market is beginning to thaw - 02/25/10 09:35 AM
The meltdown sent interest rates soaring and availability shrinking, but rates are declining and lenders are more willing to make loans that top the limits for Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the FHA. By E. Scott Reckard The Los Angeles Times February 24, 2010 Phil Kelly had 18 more months to go before the fixed rate on his $2.5-million mortgage became adjustable. But when Kelly, a former computer executive living in Rancho Santa Fe, learned he could knock his interest rate down by a full percentage point by refinancing, he went for it. "It's always tough to pick the exact bottom … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: How You Can Get The Most Accurate, Real-Time Mortgage Rate Quotes Available - 02/23/10 02:25 AM

You can't get your mortgage rates from the newspaper. Last week proved it. Again. Friday morning, headlines and around the country read that mortgage rates were down 0.04 percent, on average, since the week prior. A sampling of said headlines includes: US Mortgage Rates Drop For 2nd Straight Week (Reuters)Mortgage Rates On 30-year US Loans Fall To 4.93% (Business Week)30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Falls Farther Below 5% (Marketwatch) The story behind the headline was sourced from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, am industry-wide mortgage rate poll of more than 100 lenders. The PMMS has reported mortgage rate data … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : February 22, 2010 - 02/22/10 06:51 AM
Mortgage markets had a terrible, holiday-shortened week last week as Wall Street responded to worse-than-expected inflation data and action from the Federal Reserve. Mortgage bonds sold off with force, causing mortgage rates to rise for the second week in a row. Last week was a bad week to float a mortgage, to say the least. Rates rose by the largest margin in any week since late-2009. The two biggest stories from last week both came from the Federal Reserve. The first was the release of the FOMC January meeting minutes which showed more confidence in the U.S. economy than Wall Street … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : February 16, 2010 - 02/16/10 02:44 AM
Mortgage markets worsened last week on general profit-taking in the U.S. bond market, combined with talk of a coordinated rescue effort for Greece and its debt burden. Mortgage-backed bonds sold off, causing conventional and FHA mortgage rates to rise. There wasn't much hard data on which to trade last week, either, so momentum took markets farther than they otherwise might have moved on their own. It marked the first time in 5 weeks that rates rose for rate shoppers. This week, data returns. Expect mortgage market movement. Some of the week's more important releases include: Housing Starts and Building Permits (Wednesday)The … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: Mortgage Approvals Are Getting More And More Scarce - 02/09/10 12:47 PM
The economy's improving but lending standards are not. Nationally, banks are making mortgage approvals harder to come by.
Underwriting guidelines are tightening.
The data comes from the Federal Reserve's quarterly survey to its member banks. The Fed asks senior bank loan officers around the country to report on "prime" residential mortgage guidelines over the most recent 3 months and whether they've tightened.
For the period October-December 2009:
Roughly 1 in 4 banks said guidelines tightened Roughly 3 in 4 banks said guidelines were "basically unchanged" Just 2 of 53 banks said its guidelines had loosened.
Combine the Fed's survey with recent … (1 comments)

mortgage rates: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : February 8, 2010 - 02/08/10 03:42 AM
Mortgage markets improved last week on domestic jobs data and international banking concerns. The news triggered buying in the bond market and, as a result, conventional, FHA and VA mortgage rates improved for the 4th consecutive week. Mortgage rates are now at a 6-week low but probably shouldn't be. It underscores just how important global events can be to U.S. mortgage markets. For example, corporate earnings continue to improve and key elements of the economy are strengthening. Even the Federal Reserve acknowledges this. In most circumstances, that would be a boon for the stock markets and bond markets would suffer, including … (0 comments)