Mortgage Rate Shopping: Reactions to Fed’s June Meeting
July 18th, 2010 categories: Buyer Strategies, Mortgage & Finance, Seller Strategies
Mortgage rates hit all time lows this week, at least according to Freddie Mac.
And they may be staying low for awhile, but then again who can predict. A good run of economic news could send them creeping up.
Since the Fed released its June 2010 meeting highlights, mortgage rates have been dipping, owing to the tone and language of the report.
The Fed’s report is page upon page of stats, and other somewhat dense descriptions of the U.S. economy, along with discussion of the give and take of opinions among the Fed members.
Some highlights from this report include:
- An expectation of below normal growth through 2012
- A less positive picture on employment
- Credit conditions easing only very slowly
This is not great news overall, but it may bode well for mortgage rates.
If you have a re-fi or a home purchase on the horizon, consider getting that mortgage rate locked in now. Forget the stress of trying to second guess what is next.
And of course, if you are considering a move to the Northern Virginia area or a home sale or purchase in Northern Virginia, I invite you to take a quick minute and watch our video on how we serve our clients. It is an honest view on how we serve home buyers and sellers. Click on “Our Story: In the Voice of Our Clients.”
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Do you KNOW if this is a good time to refinance your mortgage?
July 1st, 2010 categories: Mortgage & Finance
This 3-minute video from NBC’s The Today Show from last month is still worth a quick look if you are thinking about a refi.
If you are uncertain as to whether a refinancing of your mortgage is a good idea, that is probably a sign that you need to check it out.
You should know the answer to that question, otherwise you may be throwing money away each month.
As always, let me know if you need a few mortgage contact referrals. I routinely provide buyers and sellers with several referrals that I have found to be reputable, quality mortgage professionals.
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Getting Up-To-Date Mortgage Rate Information
February 23rd, 2010 categories: Buyer Strategies, Mortgage & Finance
Chantilly and Northern Virginia area home buyers who are on the lookout for the best interest rate, may have noticed some of last week’s hesdlines proclaiming that mortgage rates were down 0.04 percent, on average, since the week prior.
Other headlines proclaimed the same thing:
- 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 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), has been collecting are reporting mortgage rate data for nearly 40 years.
But here is the point: mortgage rates are far too dynamic and fluid to expect that even good data from the PMMS will let you know when and where you will get the best mortgage rate.
Remember to, as we have discussed on Chantilly Radio when we talk about mortgage issues, that the interest rate you are getting is not the only consideration to evaluate when you are mortgage shopping.
When you are on the lookout for the right time to “pull the trigger,” the best person to give you up to the moment information is a mortgage officer you trust.
Stay in contact with them because things can change hour-to-hour, if not minute-to-minute.
As always, if you need a few references, I can always give you the names of several reputable mortgage professionals. Let me know if this would help.
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STIMULUS PACKAGE AND MORTGAGE RATES: THE CONNECTION
February 18th, 2009 categories: Buyer Strategies, Mortgage & Finance
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THE TREASURY’S OUTLINE FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY: DOW DROPS BUT HOME AFFORDABILITY GETS A BENEFIT
February 11th, 2009 categories: Buyer Strategies, Mortgage & Finance
Mortgage shoppers in Northern Virginia might take note of the impact of Treasury Secretary Geithner’s speech yesterday.
In his own way he made a modest contribution to home affordability. And it did not happen due to what he did say. It was what he did not say. While the stock market took another one of its now less surprising plunges, there was a good deal of “safe-haven” buying on Wall Street.
Safe-haven buying occurs when investors move cash into what they believe are much safer investments, to avoid losing their money elsewhere.
Looking at yesterday’s Dow Jones Index timeline, we can see this pattern. Stock markets were down somewhat in the morning. Then, around 11:00 AM ET, just after the public release of Geither’s speech as text, the stock market took a 2 percent dive.
As the speech was actually being delivered, the markets dropped another 1 percent.
The speech itself was not bad, but it was very different than what many were expecting. Wall Street was looking for a highly detailed plan that included remedies for banking, housing, and the economy overall. They wanted the full blueprint, not a bare bones sketch. What it got instead was an outline for a plan and a candid discussion about the complexity associated with designing a set of solutions.
Stock markets moved up last week, probably in anticipation of a more detailed recovery master plan, not to mention the deployment of bailout funds. Yesterday’s action was the subsequent sell-off because economic uncertainty was not reduced by the speech content.
But there was good news for mortgage rate shoppers. When the dollars fled the stocks, they moved toward safer, less-risky investments like mortgage bonds. And, because mortgage-backed bonds set the “going rate” for conforming mortgages nationwide, the added demand yesterday caused mortgage rates to fall, making mortgaged homes relatively less expensive on a monthly basis.
For now, rates remain near the bargain levels set in early-January. As the Treasury clarifies its plan in the weeks ahead, however, there is certainly the possibility for swings in rates.
(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal)
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