From loancentral.com

You probably have a sense of this already, just by keeping your ears open and applying common sense, but I thought I'd post this article for you:

"RATES IMPROVE SLIGHTLY THIS WEEK!

"The recent unrest in the Middle East is causing investors around the world to move money to the safe?haven of US bonds, causing bond prices to increase, and resulting in lower mortgage rates. While we’ve seen slight improvements in the mortgage rates this week, they haven’t dropped nearly as much as many analysts expected. This is especially surprising when you consider the stock market dropped 325 points in addition to the bond market increases. However, many experts are warning that the recent gains in bonds will be limited by fears of inflation down the road. Therefore, the improvements in rates are likely to be temporary and may not last for long. In addition, as the economy continues to expand, albeit slowly, rates will move higher over time.
"Many are predicting mortgage rates to be around 5.5% toward the end of 2011. This week’s small downturn in rates provides an excellent opportunity to lock in your rate before they go back up. For those who are waiting to see if housing prices drop further, you should know this fact: a 5% drop in the price of a $400,000 home is completely offset by a 1% increase in interest rates. Now is the time to buy…housing prices are great and rates are still low!"

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:50:00 -0800

UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES CAUSE INTEREST RATES TO RISE

Interesting analysis from WendyC@LoanCentral.com:

Unemployment figures were released today and contained some mixed information. The unemployment rate fell from 9.4% to 9%, shocking many analysts who had expected it to rise slightly. Many experts are scratching their heads trying to figure out how we got to this number. The drop to 9% indicates that 504,000 people from the previous month are no longer unemployed. It’s a good bet that these folks didn’t find a job, but instead have left the labor force because they can’t find a job, or are discouraged.
Signs of economic recovery cause mortgage rates to rise. The markets were very volatile today and interest rates are up on the day. Further interest rate increases are expected with many analysts predicting rates will be around 5.5% by year end, which results in a loss of buying power of approximately $30,000 on a $400,000 sale price.
As of this moment, the Fed Fund Futures, which forecast when the Fed will hike interest rates, has moved from a Monday reading of a 52% chance that they will hike in January 2012…to today’s reading of a 100% chance of a Fed hike at that meeting.
Don’t miss out on these historically low interest rates…now is the time to lock your rate under 5%!

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 15:22:00 -0800

Fannie Mae and your home purchase

FANNIE MAE OWNED PROPERTIES ARE AN EXCELLENT BUYING OPPORTUNITY!

With the surge in foreclosures over the past few years, Fannie Mae has taken back a significant number of homes where the owner’s could no longer afford to make the payments on their loans. In an effort to move these homes off their books, Fannie
Mae is offering special financing options that allow more consumers to qualify for the purchase of these homes. These special financing options coupled with the lower housing prices offered on these homes make a great buying opportunity!
Currently in King County there are 416 Fannie Mae owned homes ranging in price from $49,900 to $459,900. There are 232 homes in Pierce County and 245 homes in Snohomish County. Consumers looking to purchase these homes as their primary residence can get in for as little as a 3% down payment, with a 660 credit score, no private mortgage insurance required, and no appraisal needed.
Those looking to purchase the homes for investment purposes can get in with as little as a 10% down payment, with no mortgage insurance and no appraisal needed.
Fannie Mae has created a website at www.homepath.com where interested consumers
can search to see the homes currently available.
This is one of those opportunities that won’t be around forever so if you or someone you know can benefit from this, now is the time to act!

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:11:00 -0800

Up Up and Away!

INTEREST RATES HAVE LIKELY HIT BOTTOM

Today’s headline news was the release of the reports on job creations and unemployment. Both reports rattled the markets as they have come in MUCH worse than analysts’ expected. Analysts expected to see approximately 130,000 new jobs created, and the report showed a disappointing 39,000. Furthermore, the unemployment
figure jumped to 9.8%, well above the expected 9.6%.

Normally, this kind of bad economic news would send mortgage rates lower. However, today’s jobs report now puts into question, were the recent string of economic reports a false start that the economy was improving? And will future reports coincide with today’s weak jobs report? Or was today’s reading a bump on the road to recovery? Only time will tell.

However, you can bet the Fed will be putting forth a full dose of QE2 into the economy. And now we are hearing rumors that QE3 will be forthcoming. Remember that the goal of QE2 is to create inflation, pump up stock prices and lower the unemployment rate. All of these goals result in higher mortgage rates. It is starting to look like mortgage rates may have hit their bottom and are now on their
way back up!

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:44:00 -0800

More Buyers Pleased With Real Estate Firms

Satisfaction with national real estate companies among home buyers has improved while satisfaction among home sellers has declined in the last year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study, released Thursday.
J.D. Powers collected 3,000 evaluations from 2,817 respondents who bought or sold a home between March 2009 and April 2010. Overall satisfaction with the buying experience is determined by rating satisfaction with the practitioner, the office they represent, and a variety of additional services. Four factors are examined for the home-selling experience: the quality of the practitioner’s performance, marketing, the office they represent, and other services.
"Among both home buyers and home sellers, the importance of [practitioners] and salespersons has increased substantially in 2010, compared with 2009," said Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power, in a statement.
"Buyers are increasingly relying upon negotiating skills of [practitioners] and seem to be satisfied with the purchase prices they are obtaining. Despite the fact that sales practitioners appear to be doing a good job of negotiating and marketing on behalf of home sellers, the tough economic conditions are negatively impacting their overall satisfaction with real estate companies," Howland added.
On a 1,000-point scale here are the scores in the home buyer segment:
1. Keller Williams, 817
2. Prudential, 811
3. Coldwell Banker, 805
4. Home-Buyer Segment Average, 803
5. RE/MAX, 801
6. Century 21, 798
7. ERA, 785
8. GMAC/Real Living, 765
Satisfaction ratings on a 1,000-point scale from home sellers:
1. Prudential, 760
2. Keller Williams, 751
3. RE/MAX, 744
4. Coldwell Banker, 743
5. Home-Seller Segment Average, 742
6. Century 21, 727
Source: J.D. Power and Associates (07/28/2010)

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:56:00 -0700