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Weekend Market Update

March 27-28, 2010

Mortgage rates were under upward pressure for most of the week, although on Friday mortgage-backed securities got a boost as rates continue in this trough of historic lows.

The FNMA 4.5% contract was up by 32 bps on Friday, but was down 41 basis points for the week (which means on average that it cost borrowers .41% of the loan amount to achieve the same rate they got a week ago.) A point in mortgage rate pricing is 1% of the loan amount, and 100 basis points (bps) in securities trading equal a full point in mortgage pricing.

A tepid response to three Treasury auctions this week underscored that interest rates eventually will have to rise on Treasury issues to attract a sufficient number of buyers. Hey, the Chinese can only buy so many Treasury notes.

President Obama announced programs to help existing homeowners avoid foreclosure. The programs will be funded from the $700 billion TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). RealtyTrac Inc., a California-based research firm, reported that foreclosures are expected to climb to 4.5 million this year, up from 2.8 million last year.

FHA mortgage insurance premiums increase April 5. If you have any buyers who are close, and who need a local MORTGAGE BANKER (not a broker) WITH IN-HOUSE UNDERWRITING to get a sale closed smoothly and quickly, call me, and I can get your customer situated and get a pre-approval letter to help you negotiate with a seller. So long as we order the FHA case number by April 4, it’s all good.

.

30-Year Conventional Fixed

4.875% $100,000-$417,000


FHA-100% VA

5% $100,000-$393,300


30-Year Jumbo Fixed

5.875% $417,001-$900,000

(Interest-only available-Call me)

THDA Great Start

5.58% $100,000-$393,300

4% of sales price Gift

Call for free pre-approval and to discover

the best financing for you!

...by Gary Moore

Cell: 615-579-8658 Toll-free fax: 866-321-6513

"No problem can be solved until it is reduced to some simple form. The changing of a vague difficulty into a specific, concrete form is a very essential element in thinking." - J.P. Morgan

Visit my real estate website:

http://www.RealCarte.com


Visit my mortgage website:

http://www.BrentwoodHomeLoan.com

(0% points, 1% origination, subject to program and lock period. Market Update informs consumers and Realtors on market trends and is not a quote for a unique borrower.)

Weekend Market Update

April 10-11, 2010

While the three major U.S. stock indexes logged gains for the sixth week in a row, looking forward, global stock markets are poised for further advances after a giant emergency aid plan for Greece was worked out.

In what may be the biggest multilateral financial rescue ever, the euro zone and the IMF threw debt-laden Greece a lifeline by pledging at least 40 billion euros ($54 billion USD) in aid. The size of the rescue plan, which was on the high side of market expectations, eased worries about Greece defaulting on its debt in the near term and creating a domino effect on other countries with deep fiscal problems.

Mortgage-backed securities bounced back last week, as mortgage rates remained in this decade’s trough of historic lows. Rates are headed up, although moderately, is the consensus view. With the Greece issue out of the market, the line of least resistance for money is into riskier stocks and away from the relative safety of Treasuries and mortgage-backed instruments.

Investors have feared that Greece's debt crisis and fiscal weakness elsewhere in Europe could threaten a steadily healing global economy. Data last week showed euro zone growth stalled in the fourth quarter last year, though other surveys showed it may have regained traction in recent months.

A raft of Chinese economic data due this week could add further evidence that the global rebound is picking up steam. China will release its first-quarter GDP report, with analysts forecasting growth of 11.5 percent from a year ago.

U.S. stock investors also will be watching corporate earnings numbers to see how much momentum the rally can get from early profit reports.

The first-quarter figures come as the three major U.S. stock indexes finished a sixth straight week of gains, the best string since the rebound from 12 1/2-year lows in March 2009. The Dow crossed above 11,000 several times last week, including late Friday, but never quite closed above that mark on any day.

First-time homebuyers have until April 30 to pin down a purchase contract and a gift of up to $8,000 from the U.S. Treasury. Do not overlook the $6,500 that non-first-timers can gain for buying a home now. Call me to help you devise a strategy to succeed at buying, financing and snagging the once-in-a-lifetime gift. With inventories still plentiful and rates low, never before---and probably never again---will homebuyers have such an opportunity.

If you and your buyers need a local MORTGAGE BANKER (not a broker) WITH IN-HOUSE UNDERWRITING to get a sale closed smoothly and quickly, call me, and I can get your customer situated and get a pre-approval letter to help you negotiate with a seller.

30-Year Conventional Fixed

4.75% $100,000-$417,000


FHA-100% VA

5% $100,000-$393,300


30-Year Jumbo Fixed

5.875% $417,001-$900,000

(Interest-only available-Call me)

THDA Great Start

5.58% $100,000-$393,300

4% of sales price Gift

Call for free pre-approval and to discover

the best financing for you!

...by Gary Moore

Mortgage Planner, First Community Mortgage

...a subsidiary of First Community Bank

Cell: 615-579-8658 Toll-free fax: 866-321-6513

"Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it." -- Warren Buffett

Visit my real estate website:

http://www.RealCarte.com


Visit my mortgage website:

http://www.BrentwoodHomeLoan.com

(0% points, 1% origination, subject to program and lock period. Market Update informs consumers and Realtors on market trends, offer subjective opinions and is not a quote for a unique borrower.)

Weekend Market Update

April 3-4, 2010

The Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in March -- the largest monthly increase in three years, while the unemployment rate remained at 9.7%. U.S. stock markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday, and the bond markets closed at noon.

Bonds and mortgage-backed securities were down for the day and the week, with the 4.5% Fannie Mae contract off by 97 basis points for the week, which loosely translates to a .25% rise in the 30-year fixed rate, or an additional one point paid by the borrower to achieve last week’s rate.

Thin, holiday trading likely exacerbated the bond market’s negative swing, and it will likely swing back in the other direction on Monday morning. Before anyone gets too carried away by the jobs number, nearly a third of the new jobs are believed to be temporary census workers and not permanent positions. Further, the expectation by analysts was that 184,000 new jobs would be added.

With the Dow Jones average having closed on Thursday just under 11,000, look for it to pop through that mark on Monday---at least at some point---while investors buy into the scenario of the jobs market has stabilized and is now expanding. On Tuesday the Fed will release its minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting, and the markets will be reading tea leaves in an effort to predict when the Fed will begin raising interest rates.

The broad Standard & Poor's 500 achieved its fourth consecutive quarterly gain this week and scored its best monthly rise since last July. For the first quarter, the S&P 500 climbed 4.9 percent. For March alone, it gained 5.9 percent. On Thursday, the S&P ended at 1,178.10 -- an 18-month high.

FHA mortgage insurance premiums increase Monday April 5. If you have a contract and are trying to get your buyer the advantage of the current, lower up-front MIP, call me on Saturday afternoon. My processor will be pulling FHA case numbers for me on Saturday night in order to capture and help any borrowers who are ready to move ahead with a purchase or refinance.

If you and your buyers need a local MORTGAGE BANKER (not a broker) WITH IN-HOUSE UNDERWRITING to get a sale closed smoothly and quickly, call me, and I can get your customer situated and get a pre-approval letter to help you negotiate with a seller.

.

30-Year Conventional Fixed

4.875% $100,000-$417,000


FHA-100% VA

5% $100,000-$393,300


30-Year Jumbo Fixed

5.875% $417,001-$900,000

(Interest-only available-Call me)

THDA Great Start

5.58% $100,000-$393,300

4% of sales price Gift

Call for free pre-approval and to discover

the best financing for you!

...by Gary Moore

Mortgage Planner, First Community Mortgage

...a subsidiary of First Community Bank

Cell: 615-579-8658 Toll-free fax: 866-321-6513

"The person who knows how will always have a job. The person who knows why will always be his boss." - Diane Ravitch

Visit my real estate website:

http://www.RealCarte.com


Visit my mortgage website:

http://www.BrentwoodHomeLoan.com