May 13th 2013
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Market Summary. Mortgage Rates were flat all last week, before getting destroyed on Friday. We clocked a sufficient rise to bump most borrowers up an eighth in rate, or significantly increase closing costs. The most prevalent rate quote for the best-qualified borrowers ends the current week moving up from 3.5 to 3...

5 Things To Know
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
5 things you should know about mortgages that are commonly misunderstood1. "I need at least 5% Down to purchase a home". Nope, FHA will allow as little as 3.50% down with some or all of it being gifted funds. There are Conventional Programs that allow a 3.00% down payment as well, however, the guidelines are much...

Right Time To Buy?
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Is it the right time to Purchase a home? According to the Home Opportunity Index(HOI) it may be the perfect time to buy a home for a few very important reasons. First off, in short the HOI is a quarterly report that weighs the median household income against the median housing cost in a given area. In the 1st Quarter of...

Cautiously Floating Your Rate For The Short-Term
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Mortgage Bonds opened lower, but quickly reversed higher into positive territory after weak economic data hit the wires.. Inflation at the consumer level remained tame in April as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 0.4%, below the -0.2% expected led by lower prices at the pump. The -0.4% drop was the lowest rate in...

Bond Market Update
Updated Oct. 24, 2014
Mortgage Bonds are trading lower as prices drift down near the 2013 lows. Prices have fallen nearly 300bp since the Fed statement was released on May 1. Talk about sell in May and go away!!!!. The cause for the slide lower is continuing debate that the Fed's Bond purchase program could end sooner rather than...

Floating Your Rate Lock
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
All quiet on the western front ahead of today's events that include Fed Chairman Bernanke's testimony in front of the Joint Economic Committee on Capitol Hill that is scheduled to begin at 10:00am ET. When it comes to deciphering when QE3 will end - look no further than Big Ben. Whatever he says goes and...

The Bernanke Effect
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Fed Chairman Bernanke spoke yesterday on Capitol Hill and his mixed signals sent shockwaves through the markets as both Stocks and Bonds plunged. Mr. Bernanke's text read that QE will not be halted, but when the Q&A session began, he did say that if the economic environment improves, the Bond purchases...

FHA: 2nd Time Buyer?
Updated Oct. 24, 2014
There are many misconceptions in the mortgage world but no other is more apparent than the 1st Time Buyer myth for FHA loans. The typical response to an FHA loan offer, "Aren't those only for first-time buyers?". The answer is absolutely not. Like any other mortgage the main concerns are FICO, DTI and...

Bond Market News
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Yesterday's solid economic data from the housing sector and consumer confidence has the Stock markets questioning as to how long QE will live on. The prospect of QE3 ending sooner is pushing Equity prices lower this morning. Throw in profit taking after the Dow and the S&P hit record high closes...

Bond Market Update
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
May is nearing its end and it wasn't a good month for Bond prices. On May 1 the benchmark 3% coupon hit an intraday high of $104.91, but quickly lost 472bp in 21 trading days, to the low hit on Tuesday and Wednesday. The plunge in prices was due to the debate of whether or not to taper the Bond purchases and better than...

Bond Market-Rates Improve
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Mortgage Bonds are following through from yesterday's rally as the tapering talk tapers off. The 3% coupon hit a more than 52-week low yesterday morning and has now surged higher by almost 100bp. Also supporting Bond prices today was tame inflation data and a fall in consumer spending.. The Commerce...

Bond Market News
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Mortgage Bonds are trading higher this morning, but the gains are modest despite weaker than expected economic data, Stock prices falling and unit labor costs dropping in the productivity report, which is viewed as non-inflationary.. ADP reports that private employers added 135K jobs in May, below the 157K...

Bond Market News
Updated Oct. 9, 2013
Mortgage Bonds are drifting lower ahead of tomorrow's closely watched monthly Jobs Report where it is expected that employers added 159K new jobs in May. Traders are cutting positions and positioning themselves to avoid any headline risk.. The Labor Department reported that Weekly Initial Jobless...