Mortgage Market Update Pre-session 2/26/08

The markets do not open for another hour and 45 minutes but I just read some interesting news that could affect the stock market very positively today. Visa, the credit card company, is going public! The IPO (Initial Public offering) could raise up to $19.0 billion. So why is this important...Because creditors will reap the benefit and right now, creditors need all the help they can get.
Major lenders such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, etc. all hold stock in Visa. A successful IPO could assist these banks in easing the credit crunch we've all been feeling lately! More to follow on the rate market around 10:00am. Good Luck.

Mortgage Market Update 2/25/08

Stocks and bonds...What will we do... Homes Sales data showing January sales down .04% from December...This was expected. However the stock market may survive today off the talks of Ambac...The bond insurer that is close to reaching an agreement for more capital.
Anything goes this week. Watching the Bond Yield (currently at 3.82%) a drop below 3.8 could cause a mid day price for the better. However a rise over 3.85% could be a rate increase.
Keeping you posted!

Mortgage Market Definition: Recession

By Definition: A Recession is the decline in a country's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2 or more quarters successively. Personally, many of us may feel like we are already in a recession but Wall Street looks at the GDP...So if the GDP does not decline then technically there's no "recession".
What we are experiencing is a slowing of the economy and an insight that a recession is coming. (It just affects us more now because of the housing hit!) Our industry has been dramatically affected...therefore we "feel" the affects more heavily.

Mortgage Market Update 2/22/08

Happy Friday! The Market is really flat today...Typical of a Friday when there's no real data being released. Get ready for Monday and next week as Existing Homes Sales, PPI, and Consumer Confidence all report next week. It could be a wild ride starting Monday.

As far as the stimulus package goes, Rumor has it the details of the plan will be available on March 7th, 2008. I will post the information as soon as it is readily available.

Have a great weekend!

Mortgage Market update 2/21/08

Nice surprise to see the bond yield down to under 3.8%, If you haven't already noticed on your rate sheets, Rates are lower. Stocks not doing to much today which is why the bonds are the go to items of the day. Keep an eye on those bonds. If the yield drops below 3.75% you will probably see lower rates mid-day.

Good Luck

Mortgage Market Update 2/20/08 - Mid-day rate Reprice

I have GOOD news this time! Don't get too excited - It's a slight change for the better. The bond yield dropped below 6.90% due to bond sales rising. The stock market is basically flat ...and word on Wall street/Fed etc. is that this year is looking a lot like 1991 recession.

I entered the mortgage world in 1991, so I remember what it was like. For those of you who remember that year...It was tough! But we all survived and we will survive this too.

Good Luck!

Mortgage Market Update for 2/20/08

This is going to be another crazy day in the markets. Just when you thought rates would not go higher, They did!

Two key reports came out: housing starts and CPI...The housing starts were up (barely) and so was the Consumer Price Index. The stock market seems a little slow out of the gate this morning but the bond yield is over 3.9% which means higher rates for us in the mortgage profession. The rising rates have caused the mortgage app volume to drop dramatically for the week ending 2/15 and I can attest to that one personally. Don't rule out refinances yet. There are still a large number of eligible borrowers that need to refi to a fixed rate loan...We just have to find them!

Good Luck!