This Week	Last Week
30-Year Fixed	6.35%	6.13%
15-Year Fixed	5.86%	5.64%
Jumbo (30-Year)	7.28%	7.20%
5/1 ARM	5.73%	5.48%

 

Rates vary from state to state and each and every lender so check yours today. It is a great time to be out buying.Bargains are to be had.

Call us today and lets chat about finding you a new home or possibly an investment home or maybe avacation home.

Thursday's bond market has opened in positive territory following sizable stock losses and weaker than expected economic news. The Dow is down 110 points and the Nasdaq has lost 16 points. The bond market is currently up 12/32, which should improve this morning's mortgage rates by approximately .250 - .375 of a discount point.

Neither of today's economic releases ere considered to be high importance to the markets unfortunately, or we may have seen more of an improvement to mortgage rates. The National Association of Realtors said that home resales in the U.S. fell 2.6% last month. This was a larger drop than was forecasted. In addition, the Labor Department reported that 406,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week. This was a much larger increase than was expected and again crosses the important 400,000 benchmark.

Yesterday afternoon's Beige Book release showed that economic activity slowed in most regions and that infla tion continued to rise. The slowing economic activity is good news for bonds, but the inflationary pressures are a threat to bonds and could drive prices lower and mortgage rates higher if they continue to rise. Overall, it didn't reveal any significant surprises.

The results of today's 5-year Treasury Note auction will be posted at 1:00 PM ET. If the auction was met with a strong demand from investors, bond prices may rise during afternoon trading and could lead to lower mortgage rates. However, if the sale was met with a poor demand, we could see bond prices fall and mortgage rates rise revise higher.

Tomorrow morning brings us the release of two of the week's most important reports. The first will come from the Commerce Department when they will post June's Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 AM ET. Current forecasts are currently calling for a decline of 0.3% after showing little change in new orders during May. This data gives us an indication of manu facturing sector strength by tracking orders at U.S. factories for big-ticket items. These are products that are expected to last at least three years. A stronger than expected number may lead to higher mortgage rates tomorrow morning. If it reveals a larger than expected drop, mortgage rates should improve tomorrow.

Also being released tomorrow is the final revision to July's University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment. Unless we see a drastic revision to the preliminary estimate of 56.6, I think the markets will probably shrug this news off.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot b e guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

It’s no secret: The number of homes on the market right now is high. But did you know the U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that the number of vacant homes for sale set a new record in the first quarter of 2008? In fact, the 2.28 million properties vacant and available for sale marks the highest quarterly number since 1956 when record-keeping on this topic began.¹ Add that to rates that are still low and sellers willing to negotiate, and you’ve got what the National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) representatives say is the best buyer’s market the nation has seen in a long time.³

If you’re considering purchasing a new home — or perhaps investing in a second home — now may be just the right time to make your move. Following are a few tips for making sure you’re ready to strike while the iron is hot.

This week will be interesting for the bond market and mortgage rates. There are six economic reports scheduled for the financial and mortgage markets to digest, but only one of them is considered to be of high importance to the markets. But with data being posted all but one day of the week, we may see some fluctuations from day to day in mortgage pricing.

The first report of the week comes tomorrow morning with the release of June's Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) at 10:00 AM. This Conference Board index attempts to measure economic activity over the next three to six months. While it is not a factual report, it still is considered to be of relative importance to the bond market. It is expected to show a 0.1% increase, meaning that we may see a slight increase in economic activity over the next few months. A decline in the index would be good news for the bond and mortgage markets.





The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Bo ok report Wednesday afternoon. This report is named simply after the color of its cover, but it is considered to be important to the Fed when determining monetary policy during their FOMC meetings. It details economic activity and conditions by region throughout the U.S. With Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony last week, I don't think we will see any significant surprises in this report, and therefore will likely not cause much movement in mortgage rates Wednesday afternoon.

There are two housing sector related releases scheduled for Thursday and Friday, but I don't think they will have much of an impact on the bond market or mortgage rates. June's Existing Home Sales will be posted Thursday while New Home Sales will be released Friday. I would expect that other reports or factors will drive bond trading and mortgage pricing much more than these will.

Friday brings us the release of two of the week's most important reports. The first will come from the Commerce Department when they will post June's Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 AM ET. Current forecasts are currently calling for a gain of 0.1% after showing little change in new orders during May. This data gives us an indication of manufacturing sector strength by tracking orders at U.S. factories for big-ticket items. These are products that are expected to last at least three years. A stronger than expected number may lead to higher mortgage rates Friday morning. If it reveals a smaller than expected rise or a decline, mortgage rates should drop Friday.

Also being released Friday is the final revision to July's University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment. Unless we see a drastic revision to the preliminary estimate, I think the markets will probably shrug this news off.

Overall, this is a moderately significant week for the bond market and mortgage rates. If we get weaker than expected economic results, we may see mortgage rates move low er for the week. However, stronger than expected results will likely lead to higher rates for the week. We also have a 5-year Treasury Note auction Thursday that may influence bond trading but will also give us an indication of investor appetite for bonds. Generally speaking, despite the lack of a data-packed calendar, I would still maintain constant contact with your mortgage professional.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Last Updated: July 14, 2008: 3:02 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be hanging in the balance but many mortgage borrowers already find themselves struggling to find affordable loans.

Because of the turmoil surrounding Fannie and Freddie, recent borrowers are likely paying at least 10% more in monthly mortgage payments than they would have.

The added cost stems from an erosion in confidence in Fannie and Freddie, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com.

Fannie and Freddie borrow money in the bond markets to pay for the mortgages they buy from lenders and then sell them to hedge funds and other investors. Their cost of borrowing that money has now gone up, and that filters down to lenders who have to charge more to borrowers.

"It does have an impact on mortgage interest rates," said Richard DeKaser, chief economist for National City Corp. "It will be more expensive for Fannie and Freddie to acquire mortgages and that will ripple through the market."

Indeed, borrowers have been spending more for mortgage loans than usual ever since credit markets went through an upheaval last summer. Before then, the interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was about 1.5 percentage points higher than yields on 10-year Treasury notes, according to Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, a publisher of consumer loan information. Treasuries are a benchmark for mortgage rates.

Now, the difference is closer to 2.5 percentage points and has expanded by about a 0.3 percentage points since late June, as angst over the futures of Fannie and Freddie reached fever pitch.

With their stock prices plummeting and concerns accelerating over their financial well-being, "Their cost of borrowing money is definitely going to be higher," said Gumbinger.

And mortgages are not only getting more expensive for ordinary borrowers but they're also harder to obtain as lenders tighten up their standards.

"Some lenders are really pulling in their horns," said Steve Habetz, a Connecticut mortgage broker. "They're getting scared. They're demanding really clean loan applications with every i dotted and every t crossed."

What is happening now is compounding the damage which has already devastated the housing market.

The troubles for Fannie and Freddie could even affect current mortgage borrowers since they put the housing rescue bills that Congress has been agonizing over for months in jeopardy, according to Zandi, who has testified before the Senate on aspects of the bills.

Congress has upped the value of the loans Fannie and Freddie can buy, as well as the total dollar amount they can hold.