bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for October 26th - 10/26/12 08:19 AM
Mortgage and Market Update
Economic News: A tame week for business news is coming to a close. New Home Sales were up 5.7% and the supply of available new homes is the lowest since 2005. That coupled with rising material costs should continue to boost pricing. The Federal Open Market Committee announcement was summed up by the WSJ. “There were no surprises in the FOMC Statement”. Might as well leave it at that. Weekly Jobless Claims were in line with expectations and there was a slight increase in the four week moving average. Pending Home Sales were nothing to write home … (0 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for October 12th - 10/12/12 05:25 AM
Mortgage and Market Update
Economic News: The overall theme of market reports for the week were good. The Beige Book’s (prepared about two weeks in advance of Federal Open Market Committee Meetings) wording regarding the economy was upgraded to “economic activity generally expanded modestly”. Also a nice tidbit was that the real estate market has improved. Those of us in the Bay Area already figured this out several months ago but hey this is a nationwide reading. Weekly Jobless Claims fell much more than expected, and like last week’s unemployment number, did come under scrutiny as one large state did not … (2 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for October 5th - 10/05/12 05:20 AM
Mortgage and Market Update
Economic News: This week’s reports were pretty positive on all fronts. The ISM-Manufacturing Index improved after three consecutive months of declines. Construction Spending is up 6.5% over year ago levels. Motor Vehicle Sales hit their highest level since 2008. Weekly Jobless Claims held steady at 367,000 and there was also a decrease in the four week moving average. Factory Orders were a tad disappointing but when the volatile aircraft sector was factored out orders rose for the second month in a row. Today’s much anticipated Employment Report had the unemployment rate decline to 7.8% from 8.1%. While … (0 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for September 21st - 09/21/12 01:32 PM
Mortgage and Market Update
Economic News: There was not much on the economic calendar for the week. The Housing Starts report was positive, although just slightly weaker than expected, with the Single Family Home segment leading the way. Existing Home Sales, on the other hand, handily beat estimates with a 7.8% gain month over month and a 9.3% gain year over year. Weekly Jobless Claims numbers are still stuck in the 380K area and the four week moving average moved slightly higher for the 5th consecutive week. The best news of the week concerned median home prices in our Golden State. … (2 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for September 14th - 09/14/12 10:38 AM
Mortgage and Market Update
Economic News: The big market moving news this week was the announcement from the Federal Open Market Committee that it will purchase 40 Billion Dollars a month of Agency Paper (Fannie & Freddie Mortgage Bonds) with no expiration date set. This is the much anticipated Quantitative Easing known as QEIII. Additionally, the FED policy of low interest rates is expected to continue through the middle of 2015. This sent the stock market off to the races Thursday and mortgage rates went lower as well. The recent increase in gasoline prices hit both the Producer and Consumer Price … (2 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for September 7th - 09/07/12 10:22 AM
Mortgage and Market Update
Economic News: Another week is coming to a close and fall is officially set to begin on Saturday the 22nd of September. One word you will be hearing about over the next several weeks are “G-Fees”. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced last Friday that it has “directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise guarantee fees (g-fees) on single family mortgages by an average of 10 basis points.” In simple terms it means that interest rates will be forced marginally higher very soon. If you have any free time this weekend and would like to read … (3 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for the week ending September 2nd - 09/03/12 07:41 AM
Mortgage and Market Update
Economic News: Housing led the way in last week’s economic news. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index reaffirmed the sentiment of housing sector improvement (which those of us in the Bay Area have known about for a while). Price increases were reported for the fifth month in a row. Pending Home Sales did not disappoint either rising 2.40% on a month over month basis. News on the consumer was a bit conflicted. Consumer Confidence was lower than expected with worries persisting about the future of jobs and the economy. On the other hand, Consumer Sentiment, posted nice results … (0 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for August 24th - 08/24/12 11:41 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for August 24th
Economic News: As we approach the end of August and a new school year begins the Bay Area real estate market activity remains robust. On a national level Existing Home Sales had a nice showing in July after stumbling a bit in June. New Home Sales rose 3.6% in July as well. The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee left the door open for further easing/stimulus in the face of a manufacturing slowdown and continued troubles in Europe. Weekly Jobless Claims moved up a notch reinforcing the FED’s case that more may need … (2 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for August 10th - 08/10/12 09:07 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for August 10th
Economic News: The “Dog Days of Summer” are here and as described by Wikipedia...”are the hottest, most sultry days of summer...” and that is exactly what we are in for this weekend in the Bay Area. As far as economic news goes this was a quiet week. Nothing to report so...
Have a Great Weekend and head toward the coast to stay cool!
Mortgage Markets: The 10 Year Note is currently trading at 1.649% which is just a tick higher than the 1.566% close last week. Mortgage rates have been under moderate pressure this … (2 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for Friday the 27th - 07/27/12 04:44 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for July 27th
Economic News: Overseas economic concerns weighed on our equity markets early in the week. News from the European Central Bank that it will become more aggressive has bolstered confidence and the US Stock Market is in rally mode. New and Pending Home Sales were softer for June after a strong showing in both April and May. Weekly Jobless Claims tumbled to 353K from an expected 380K. Gross Domestic Product softened in the 2nd Quarter at a 1.5% annualized rate. Is the California Real Estate Market improving? The stats say yes. Equity sales rose to … (4 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for Friday the 13th - 07/13/12 03:22 PM
Mortgage and Market Update for July 13th
Economic News: Not much news out this week and what there was had a generally sideways bias. Weekly Jobless Claims were reported at 350K down from 374K last week. Consumer Sentiment numbers were mixed with the near-term results stronger while the longer term vision was slightly weaker. All of this news in the end has very little to do with the state of the Bay Area real estate market. We hear a lot about troubles and concerns but here locally we are faced with multiple offers, contingency waivers, happy sellers and in many cases … (2 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for July 6th - 07/06/12 07:20 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for July 6th
Economic News: There was a good deal of market data released during this holiday shortened week and we have reverted back to the “some good...some not so good” reporting. The ISM Manufacturing numbers for June fell below the 50 level (above 50 marks expansion) to 49.7. These results were offset by the ISM Non-Manufacturing figures announced later in the week. Factory Orders for May rose .70% versus the anticipated .10% increase. Weekly Jobless Claims were lower than expected and the four week moving average declined for the second straight week. Finally, the Employment Situation … (0 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for June 29th - 06/29/12 02:55 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for June 29th
Economic News: As we end the week and prepare for the upcoming Independence Holiday we can reflect on what was a positive string of housing reports. New Home Sales were strong with a 7.6% increase in May and the inventory of new homes for sale dropped to 4.7 months. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index was up for the third month in a row and was at the higher end of expectations. Finally, the Pending Home Sales results were a great way to end the week on housing data showing a 7.9% jump. The reports … (4 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for June 23rd - 06/23/12 08:10 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for June 23rd
Economic News: With Europe on the back burner this week we can focus on the domestic economy. The news for the week is similar to the last couple of months. Not great but so bad either. Housing Starts, while not meeting expectations, still showed strength in some of the underlying components with the West leading the way. The Federal Open Market Committee indicated that the economy has slowed a bit and left the current monetary policy unchanged. Weekly Jobless Claims were reported in line with estimates. Keeping in mind that all real estate is … (5 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for June 15th - 06/15/12 06:10 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for June 15th
Economic News: We should get some evidence this weekend about the situation within the European Union when Greece gets out to vote. The outcome will be a good indication of the country’s motivation to remain in the EU and will also lift some uncertainty that has been plaguing the markets. On the home front the data for the week was just so so. Lower energy prices were visible in the results of both the Producer and Consumer Price Indices. The May Retail Sales figures also declined on lower gasoline prices. Weekly Jobless Claims increased … (4 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for June 8th - 06/08/12 09:55 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for June 8th
Economic News: With better news coming out of Europe indicating more cooperation in dealing with their various financial issues global stock markets were able to regain some of their footing. While volatility will continue in the near term it was nice to see the negative sentiment subside. As far as the US Economy goes we saw that Factory Orders fell in April marking the third month in a row. The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index was stronger than expected and since this is forward looking it offsets the softer news in factory orders. The Beige Book … (2 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for June 1st - 06/01/12 04:23 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for June 1st
Economic News: You have to look long and hard to find any positive economic news this week. The uncertainty ahead of the next elections in Greece and Spain reemerging as a front burner issue in the ongoing European Union crisis have hit global stock markets. As far as the US goes Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter was revised lower to an annualized 1.9% versus 2.2%. Consumer Confidence took a hit and fell to 64.9 versus the last reading of 69.7. The employment reports were a disappointment with an increase in Weekly Jobless … (7 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for May 25th - 05/25/12 03:23 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for May 25th
Economic News: The major headlines for the week were the continued turmoil surrounding Greece, its debt and whether or not it will be an EU member nation in the near future and the NASDAQ fumble of Facebook’s initial public offering.While these headlines captured the news we had another week of decent economic reports. New and Existing Home Sales were positive. Consumer Sentiment continued climbing off of near term lows seen last August and is at the highest level since late 2007. Lastly, Weekly Jobless Claims were reported at the high end of consensus but … (5 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: Bay Area Mortgage & Market Update for May 18th - 05/18/12 03:55 AM
Mortgage and Market Update for May 18th
Economic News:  The situation in Greece is again stressing global markets but here in the U.S. the big news is the Initial Public Offering of Facebook. The Bay Area has been on a bit of a roll lately as have our local real estate markets. Listing agents are reviewing multiple offers with sellers while buyer agents are working harder than ever to serve their clients needs. In spite of generally positive news on the US Economy the stock market was under pressure most of the week. This volatility will more than likely be with … (5 comments)

bay area jumbo mortgage: East Bay Mortgage & Market Update for May 11th - 05/11/12 03:48 PM
Mortgage and Market Update for May 11th
Economic News: The elections in France and political turmoil in Greece gave the stock market the jitters to start the week. This broad selloff in equities led to a rally in bonds. As the week went on things calmed down a bit. There was not much in the way of domestic economic news this week. Jobless Claims held steady and Consumer Sentiment beat expectations pointing toward a more positive view of the economy. Around Bay Area housing the buzz is the lack of inventory and multiple offer scenarios across most price points.Mortgage Markets: Treasuries … (4 comments)