Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Get Taken Over

September 8, 2008 at 9:38 am · Filed under Affordable Housing, Gulf Coast Housing, Headlines, Pensacola, Residential, Selling Your Home, The Mortgage Market

Markets react to the government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

I wrote a post last thursday about how the bond market was looking good to align yourself for a refinance.  Then, over the weekend, the government stepped in and took control over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and what a difference it has made.  At the time of this post, mortgage bonds are trading nearly 70 basis points higher than the close on Friday, and the Friday numbers were already steller.

So the post Thursday that suggested it might be a good time to refinance has now become a battle cry.  If you have been waiting for the right time to refinance your home, it is time to get the application started and wait for the right day to lock your rate.  If this trend continues, we may very well see rates below 6% on a 30 year fixed this week.  This morning, rates are as low as 6.125%, and there will likely be an improvement on those later today based on current market conditions.  You can check current rates at SteveRussellOnline.com.

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Thursday August 28, 2008

August 28, 2008 at 9:46 am · Filed under Affordable Housing, Gulf Coast Housing, Gustav, Headlines, Hurricane, Residential, Selling Your Home, The Mortgage Market

Here is how the market is shaking out today.

Today, the preliminary Gross Domestic Product report came in at 3.3% above expectations of 2.7%, and well over the previously reported 1.9%.  The final number for this report is not due out until next month, but the preliminary reading has people exiting bonds and buying stocks today.

Because of this, you might want to lock your rate if you have a loan in processing.  Additional pressure on bonds is being created by oil prices trading above $120 per barrel again on fears of Hurricane Gustav and how it will affect the 3500 oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.  if there is significant damage done to oil drilling operations from Hurricane Gustav, we may see a greater spike in oil next week, creating even more pressure on the bond market.

Lots of uncertainty on the horizon, but prudence may be the word of the day in my advice to lock in and protect from potential loss.

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Existing Home Sales Better Than Expected

August 25, 2008 at 9:28 am · Filed under Gulf Coast Housing, Headlines, Residential, Selling Your Home, The Mortgage Market

Does today’s existing home sales report mean that we have finally hit bottom?

Existing home  sales for July came in at 5.0 million ahead of estimates at 4.9 million.  Despite this seemingly positive news, stocks are down today fueled by uncertainty with Fannie and Freddie, and traders are moving money into mortgage bonds searching for more security.

Mortgage bonds are currently up slightly today, and we can continue to watch bonds to determine where mortgage rates are going to go in the next 24 hours.  Over the last few days of trading last week, mortgage bonds broke through both the 25 day and the 50 day moving averages.  This could be a positive trend longer term if they can hold these levels.  Currently, bonds are trading in a sideways channel between the 50 day and 100 day moving average.  Today is probably a good day to float your rate pending any major movement.  If stocks start to recover, it would be prudent to lock your mortgage rate to hedge against pending corrections in the futures market.

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