The Fed left the Fed Funds Rate unchanged again today for the eighth time in a row after 17 consecutive hikes. None of this is news to us. The Fed’s press release, though, highlights a key theme about our country’s economy: inflation may be moderating, but we are far from in the clear. In other [...]
The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from a two-day meeting today and so this is a good time to remind yourself: The Fed does not control mortgage rates. Rather, the Fed sets the Federal Funds Rate. And the FFR is, in turn, used to determine Prime Rate. Prime Rate, in turn, is used to determine [...]
The mortgage markets officially enter “Wait-and-See” mode beginning today as the Federal Open Market Committee begins their two-day meeting. The importance of the FOMC’s meeting to mortgage markets is all in the words of the committee as opposed to their actions (or lack thereof). After all, the group has not “done anything” in a year [...]
From the CBS News Video Web site, an interesting story for anyone who’s recently applied for credit. Credit repositories now sell the contact information of people applying for new mortgage loans to other mortgage lenders that want to compete for the business. Called “trigger leads”, an unsuspecting mortgage applicant can have his credit checked by [...]
For the first week in a long while, mortgage rates ended the week better than how they started. As we talked about last week, when there are no major data releases, the markets tend to move on momentum and psychology. That’s precisely what pushed mortgage rates lower over the past five days. This week, though, [...]
The NBC Today Show recently ran a Home Staging series that’s worth watching. Hosted by Barbara Corcoran, the trio of 5-minute pieces resemble HGTV Reality Shows but carry much more insight and “everyday tips” that ordinary folks can use. The video clip above is look at a home on Long Island that, as Barbara called [...]
Is “news” always news, or is it masked opinion? When doing research on mortgages, it’s important to pay attention to the objectivity of your research source. Often, a writer will deploy key adjectives, phrases, and/or images that distort an otherwise factual story. This cartoon from clangnuts.com is a terrific example. It implies that interest only [...]
It was another favorable day for mortgage rates yesterday as average housing data and momentum trading carried bond prices higher. Bond prices up, mortgage rates down, of course. All things considered, mortgage bonds should not have moved as much as they did. But, this is the summer season and in the summer, fewer traders show [...]
For those that spend a lot of time in their car, this is old news. Since Memorial Day weekend when gas prices touched $3.24/gallon nationally, the cost of filling up dipped below $3.00. According to Gas Buddy, Monday’s average cost per gallon was $2.995. Despite the dip, gas prices are still much higher for late-June [...]
After a tame Consumer Price Index report Friday, mortgage bonds staged a brief rally and rates retreated slightly. Earlier in the week, mortgage rates were at their highest point in almost a year. Unfortunately for rate shoppers, mortgage investors are behaving like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde right now. One moment, they hate the outlook [...]
