US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall 1K to 367K

This week, the number of requests for unemployment benefits decreased by 1,000 applications filed. According to the US Labor Department, there are 367,000 Americans who have filed a claim. About 6.4 million people have received benefits from either the state or the federal government in the week ended April 21. As a result of these figures, stocks will open higher.

Read More

Rates Are Still Falling

Freddie Mac reports that the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage fell to another record low of 3.83% and the 15-year fixed rate conventional mortgage fell to 3.05% in the latest week and can be obtained when paying a 0.7 point.

Read More

New Record Low Rates

New Record Low Rates! The average fixed mortgage rate found new record lows, as the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.84 percent, down from last week when it averaged 3.88 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate averaged 4.71 percent. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage this week averaged 3.07 percent, down from last week when it averaged 3.12 percent. A year ago around this time, the 15 year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.89 percent.

"Signs of slowing economic growth and inflation remaining subdued allowed yields on Treasury bonds to ease somewhat and brought most mortgage rates to new all-time record lows this week," said Frank Nothaft, the vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac. "Real Gross Domestic Product rose at an annualized rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of this year, down from the previous quarter of 3.0 percent and below the market consensus forecast of 2.5 percent. In addition, the 12-month growth in the core price index of personal consumption expenditures was 2.0 percent in March which matches the Federal Reserve's implied inflation target."

Read More

ADP Employment Report

Employment Change according to ADP declined substantially the past month. This mornings ADP reported that private employment rose by 119k from March to April. Market expectation was that it would be over 183k. ADP employment doesn’t mirror NFP very closely, so this report should have a limited impact on the markets. But this is a weak number. Tomorrow’s economic data includes weekly initial jobless claims as well as the ISM Non-manufacturing index. We still don’t expect to see a lot of market movement until Friday’s employment report is out. In the meantime, rates will continue to sit around all time lows...

Read More

Banks Tighten Lending Standards

We have been reporting about the economic recovery of the nation. Things are continuing to look up as time goes on. However, the banks are being very strict and cautious about their lending practices. They are not giving out loans to just anyone anymore. Overall, the banks have been tightening their lending standards for residential mortgages for prime borrowers. These borrowers are those with very good credit history, high credit scores and a low debt-to-income ratio. This tightening happened mostly between January and March, putting a strain on the housing market.

These days, getting a loan is much more difficult than it used to be. Banks are demanding higher credit scores and larger downpayments. However, many people are taking advantage of various mortgage options such as the FHA's 3.5% downpayment program.

Despite all of this, banks are still eager to lend money to those who qualify. Now is still a good time to buy a new home or to refinance one if you are in the market for it. Give us a call at 1-888-883-5252 for more information or for assistance in getting started with your loan today!

Read More

March Saw Increase in Home Sales

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says that the housing market is definitely recovering. Pending home sales have increased in the month of March, putting them well above where they were a year ago. Since there is an overall national increase in sales, the inventory is slowly being lowered which helps to bring a balance to the housing market. This indicates that home prices will also be rising through 2012. In fact, first quarter sales closings were at higher levels this year than they have been in the past 5 years. According to the lastest contract signing activities, we should also see great data for the 2nd quarter.

Read More

Lack of Job Growth leads to Lower Mortgage Rates

The recent release of the Employment Situation Report showed that the labor market only created 120,000 new jobs, a number that falls short of the expected 200,000 new jobs. Because this report was much weaker than expected, the mortgage interest rates have fallen a bit lower. Typically, whenever there is a blow to job growth, or any other negative economic news occurs, it tends to be good news for mortgage rates which will go down in response. A strong economy usually leads to higher interest rates. Right now, most lenders are seeing the best and lowest interest rates of the month. That indicates rates being lower than 4.0% in most areas, averaging around 3.75%.

Read More