Mortgage rates are determined by the prices of mortgage bonds; this, we’ve covered before. As bonds prices go up, bond rates come down. And the price of a mortgage bond is a matter of Supply and Demand. The greater the demand for a bond, the higher its price. High demand for bonds is one reason [...]
Mortgage calculators are ubiquitous on real estate-related Web sites but that doesn’t mean that they’re helpful. See, Internet-based mortgage calculators take three figures into consideration when determining “how much home can you afford”. Income Debt Downpayment/Equity Next, the calculator figures in your downpayment, multiplies your income by a factor of .38 and spits out an [...]
The economy appears to have shrugged off August’s credit market turmoil and is continuing to expand. This pushed mortgage rates higher last week as market players move money into stocks and hope to capitalize on the Dow Jones rally. After the Fed’s last meeting, the central bank lowered the Fed Funds Rate by 50 basis [...]
Until this morning, mortgage markets had been somewhat dormant over the course of the week. There was no new data for traders to chew, digest and/or spit out. Mortgage rates sat flat because of it. Then, at 8:30 A.M. ET, the Commerce Department released Retail Sales data for September. Mortgage rates are headed higher this [...]
In another sign that mortgage markets are a bit unpredictable lately, this morning’s mortgage rates are virtually identical for conforming fixed rate mortgages and conforming adjustable rate mortgages. This is an extremely uncommon market condition; usually, adjustable rate mortgages carry lower rates over their initial fixed rate period (i.e. 3 years, 5 years, 7 years) [...]
As a sign that some normalcy is returning to mortgage markets, the premium attached to jumbo mortgage rates is getting smaller. A “jumbo”-sized loan is one that exceeds $417,000 on a single-family residence, among other criteria. Conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgages and jumbo 30-year fixed rate mortgages tend to move in the same direction over [...]
As expected, the big news last week was the Non-Farms Payroll report. What wasn’t expected, though, was the strength of the report. Mortgage rates ended the week on a large up-tick. 110,000 jobs were created in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This exceeded Wall Street expectations by 10% and — in isolation [...]
On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its employment report for the United States. Last month, the jobs report showed that the economy actually lost jobs for the first time since 2003. The total loss of jobs equaled 4,000 and contributed to the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower the [...]
Where does your money go? If you’re like most Americans, more than half of it goes towards housing and transportation alone. This is according to the Consumer Expenditure Survey performed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The most recent study shows American household spending habits from 2005, but the percentages change little from one year [...]
Effective November 7, 2007, the Federal Housing Administration is expected to ban home buyers’ use of seller-financed Downpayment Assistance programs. DPAs are (were?) very popular in FHA mortgage circles as a way to help buyers finance their new homes. FHA loans currently require a downpayment of at least three percent on a home purchase. That [...]
