Rates

Well, we weathered another week of HUGE treasury auctions. This week there is a bunch of economic news coming, with the unemployment rate and jobs report on Friday the big one. We have been a little volatile of late, but have remained in a pretty tight range over all. For right now we're floating, but the coming week could change that.

New Housing Data

The Case/Shiller Home Price Index for May shows that we may have it a bottom in home prices. Prices dropped by an average of over 17% from May 08, but this most recent report was the best reading in almost a year, and the first month-to-month improvement in a long time. Add this to the news earlier this week about the number of home sales and it leads me to believe the worst may be behind us. Also, keep in mind that all this data is of the nation as a whole, the Denver market is in much better shape overall. Keep this in mind if you are on the fence about whether to upgrade or buy your first home. The combination of market bottom in both prices and rates doesn't happen very often!!!!

The Market

We've seen a pretty substantial deterioration in rates in the first 3 days of this week, but are trying to get some of those losses back today. Probably the biggest reason we've seen rates increase is that earning season has started and a number of big name companies are beating expectations (Intel, Meryl Lynch and others). This has moved money out of bonds and into stocks, cause the increase in rates.

Look for things to move back to bonds as traders look to take some profits off the table, there is still a lot of uncertainty that the economy will be turning any time soon, I think some of these companies are benefiting from low expectations.

Jumbo Loans

Many people are under the impression that there are no good deals on Jumbo loans! This was true to a certain extent 6 months ago, but today we have 30 year fixed rates under 6% and 5/1 ARMs well under 5%. Both require the borrower to document their income and have a good equity position in the property, but given those two things, it is a GREAT time to refinance.

Even if you are looking to pull some money out to pay off other debt, or buy a vacation property while the getting is good, we may not see a better time to take advantage of the market in our life times.

FNMA's Home Path Program

Home Path is a new program that has been launched by FNMA to try and sell properties that FNMA has taken in foreclosure. It is a great opportunity to buy a 2nd home, investment property or even a new primary residence at below market value, with much less down than a traditional loan and NO Mortgage Insurance.

To see what's available go to to www.homepath.com where you can search by zip code, town, county or specific address. Once you've found a property, give me a call and we'll get the process started.

What's happening with Rates

We closed the week with nice improvements in rates. The mortgage backed securities market pushed through the 50 day moving average and closed very close to the 100 day moving average, meaning we have the best rates we've seen since late May. With all the added supply in the bond market caused by the unprecedented government spending, don't expect these rates to last long. If you have been holding out for the mythical 4.5% 30 year fixed, this may be your last chance to get something close. At least do yourself a favor and get your loan submitted so that if we do see a further dip, you can grab a rate and lock it in!