Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Economic Problems Persist

Stocks are still trending higher as the economy shows signs of at least stabilizing at current levers. Layoffs at least at larger companies have slowed and productions seems to be picking up. In the longer term economic growth will be challenged by several factors

1.Loss of value in real estate that is most likely not going to return in the next ten years

2. Continued erosion of 401k values from the peak

3.Loss of income from investment due to low interest rates

4. Lower income per capita due to low employment levels and lower paying jobs

5. High fixed costs of living due to higher taxes

6. Higher cost of medical insurance and medical costs

7. Lack of credit availability to less than perfect borrowers

8. Lack of credit availability to small business

9. Continued cost of fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

10. Funding issues relating to social security

These issues will weigh on the Bond market for many years. People who expect that we are going to quickly emerge from this are way too optimistic. Mortgage rates will need to remain low for the foreseeable future if we are to weather this crisis

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Mortgage market 1/6/2010

Today's Mortgage and Bond Rates 01/06/2009
Bond Market Rates Mortgage Rates
30 Year Treasury 4.70% 30 year Fixed 5.29%
10 Year Treasury 3.83% 15 Year Fixed 4.73%
2 Year Treasury 1.01% 1 Year ARM 3.91%
3 Month Treasury 0.07%
Other Stats
Oil 83.01 Gold 1.134.40 Dow 10,573.250

It has been 3 months since we posted and wow what a change, The Dow is up 800 points gold is 100.00 higher and oil is banging on the door of 85 dollars a barrel.

Pundits are still saying the economy is rebounding. I must admit that from the financial market stand point it looks better. But looking closer are things actually on the verge of improving? I don't believe so. The consumer is still in total distress. Jobs are still being lost, house prices are still falling.The housing construction and home improvement business are at a stand still. States are facing huge budget deficits and of course the feds are borrowing like there is no tomorrow. I fail to see the improvement.

With the 3 month Treasury at .07% there is still a lot of scared money in the market. Time will tell who is right on this call.

Mortgages still look to be a good for consumers if they can qualify. I sense that rates will be moving higher soon. When the Fed stops purchasing mortgage backed securities in the not to distant future that may be the signal that the party is over. Another warning sigh is that the 10 year is a full 70 basis points higher the 3 months ago while mortgage rates are actually slightly lower.

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Today's Mortgage and Bond Rates 10/06/2009
Bond Market Rates Mortgage Rates
30 Year Treasury 4.06% 30 year Fixed 5.22%
10 Year Treasury 3.25% 15 Year Fixed 4.67%
2 Year Treasury 0.90% 1 Year ARM 4.03%
3 Month Treasury 0.07%
Other Stats
Oil 71.40 Gold 1.039.40 Dow 9,731.250

Rates edged higher today as stocks resumed the upward trend. Pundits are saying the economy is rebounding. I fail to see the improvement. With the 3 month Treasury at .07% there is still a lot of scared money in the market. Time will tell who is right on this call.

Mortgages still look to be a good for consumers if they can qualify. I sense that rates will be moving higher soon as when the Fed stops purchasing mortgage backed securities in the not to distant future.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Current Mortgage and Bond Rates 10/01/2009
Today's Mortgage and Bond Rates
Bond Market Rates Mortgage Rates
30 Year Treasury 3.95% 30 year Fixed 5.13%
10 Year Treasury 3.18% 15 Year Fixed 4.60%
2 Year Treasury 0.87% 1 Year ARM 3.93%
3 Month Treasury 0.09%
Other Stats
Oil 70.19 Gold 1.000.40 Dow 9,509.00

Looks like we were a little early in calling the lows for the bond market and mortgage rates. The stock market struggled today and bonds were winners as a result.

The economy looks like it is either sinking again or maybe it never really recovered. That's not for me to decide.

The facts are that the employment numbers are still bad the manufacturing numbers are bad, housing is still bad. In this environment rates will be staying low for a while

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Current Mortgage and Bond Rates 9/27/2009
Today's Mortgage and Bond Rates
Bond Market Rates Mortgage Rates
30 Year Treasury 4.07% 30 year Fixed 5.31%
10 Year Treasury 3.30% 15 Year Fixed 4.80%
2 Year Treasury 0.96% 1 Year ARM 3.96%
3 Month Treasury 0.09%

Rates are lower the markets seem to have some fear here that the economy may not be in the turnaround mode just yet. Weak housing number still seem to be weighing down the economy and continuing bad employment reports seem to me to indicate that the economy will continue to stagger along. I find it hard to believe that the stock market will hold up with all of the bumps that appear in the road. we may see a change as the quarter ends with some profit taking from some of the gains in the quarter.

This is good news on the mortgage front for now as rates are still low. As long as the fed keeps buying all the mortgage paper we will be in good shape. Of course you can only get a loan if you have perfect credit. So this precludes most people that really need to refinance.

This story has a long way to go.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

30 Year Fixed 5.250%
15 Year Fixed 4.750%
1 Year Adjustable 4.750%
FHA 30 year Loan 5.375%
Rates are based on current market rates from competitive companies.
This would assume normal closing costs and normal fees

Mortgage rate advisory

The Fed held rates steady today and indicated that they will hold rats low for some time to come. They also announces that the y will start to slow their purchases of mortgage backed securities. Since they are the only buyers now this may cause an increase in rates as there is little demand for the product now.

This may be the beginning of an upward trend in rates

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Current Mortgage Rates
09/20/2009

30 Year Fixed 5.250%
15 Year Fixed 4.750%
1 Year Adjustable 4.750%
FHA 30 year Loan 5.375%
Rates are based on current market rates from competitive companies. This would assume normal closing costs and normal fees

Mortgage rate advisory
Rates appear to be trending in a range between 4.875 and 5.25 for the thirty year fixed. In our view rates will continue to stay in this range for sometime. We believe that the economy is going to continue under stress for sometime to come and that mortgage rates will stay low because of this.
The stock market in our view seems to be way ahead of itself and is expecting a recovery in the economy in the not to distant future. With the unemployment rate at record high levels and little hope for new job growth in the near term i don't see how the economy can rebound.