Delayed due to technical issues at hotel on Friday.
Question of the week: What brings value to your home?
Answer: The monetary value of your property and house is determined by the market and the prices paid on homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood. But that is but part of the value in our home.
The Thanksgiving meals at our dining room table with family and friends add value.
The Christmas mornings sitting on the floor in our pajamas sipping coffee while the kids see what Santa dropped down the chimney add value.
Having a beer with some friends around the barbecue while our kids play in the pool adds value.
Walking across the street after coming home from work and talking to our neighbors for ten minutes adds value.
Cooking dinner with a glass (bottle?) of wine in our kitchen with Leslie adds value.
Looking at the latest homemade decoration put up in one of the kids’ rooms adds value.
Hosting an annual party with friends, family, neighbors coming over to share not necessarily in the joy of friendships and relationships and what they bring to each of us adds value.
A house has value on the market, a home has value in memories, relationships, births and deaths that occur in our lives. Life has many riches, those created by others that we carry in our hearts and memories are the most valuable of all, those created in our own homes seem to have the most lasting joy as they are recalled.
What is the true value of your home?
I will keep this link on my “Question of the Week” section to assist new homeowners:
IRS Form 5405 for First Time Buyer Tax Credit for those eligible for the up to $8000 credit. Note credit only for those who close escrow before November 30, 2009 under current legislation.
Have a question for me? Ask me!
Time is running out on the IRS tax credit! If you are considering purchasing a home this year, are qualified and wish to take advantage of the IRS credit hurry and get into escrow. All escrows must be closed by the end of business on November 30, 2009. Are you qualified? Click this link IRS Form 5405 for Frequently Asked Questions click here IRS FAQ
Mortgage Backed Securities have had a pretty good week. They are giving back some ground today on light trading as the markets slowly shut down and traders head out of town for the 3 day weekend. Overall we experienced another week of positive and some negative news about the economy but investors, including the Fed, kept bonds going with lots of purchases.
One reason is stocks lost. The stock markets saw four losing days in a row starting last Friday. Stocks sell bonds buy is the general rule of thumb and this past week saw that occur. Several days the stock markets started positive only to turn negative later in the day, and the reverse for MBS starting negative and then turning positive.
As a result of the mid-day reversals mortgage rates, set in the morning and changed mid-day only if significant change in prices—usually for the worse—followed the previous day’s market. In essence rates this week have had a lag from the day before’s trading.
Looking forward it appears that mortgage backs may be overbought and due for a correction soon. If investors feel the Fed purchase program is going to be slowing down sooner rather than later we could see the correction sooner rather than later. In the meantime simple day to day profit taking could put us in position for a drop in prices, and bump in rates, next week. “Could” being the key word in any discussion on economics.
Labor statistics today showed another 215,000 jobs lost, which is better than the expectation of 230,000—unless you were one of those pink slipped. This brings the national unemployment rate to 9.7%. “True” unemployment is probably 3-4% higher if you include those who are significantly under-employed, working part-time but want full time work or have given up looking for work. Also not included are self-employed individuals who are essentially unemployed due to lack of business.
Those who have been on my updates and read them this past year know that I was against the stimulus package passed by Congress in February after being rushed through. It’s stated intention was to reduce unemployment and create jobs. Among my several reservations my primary objection was that the bill would not have any funds hitting the economy until late 2009, essentially in the next month when some of the funds hit and the bulk of the funding will not occur until much later in 2010. Coincidentally the bulk of the funds get spent when House Representatives and about one-third of the Senate are up for re-election. Nothing says “vote for me” like a couple of million dollars of pork spending from Washington hits the District.
The silver lining in the Labor Department reports lately show, to me, that my misgivings on the $787 billion spending package, were and are on the mark. Unemployment is still growing, but at a slower rate. Further, in the numbers are average wages and salaries are increasing. Employers are doing what they always do when business picks up: they are paying more overtime and putting more work on their current employees before making the big commitment to hire more.
The economy is slowing turning around and it has little to nothing to do with anything done in Washington this year but rather the markets doing what markets naturally do—expanding and contracting and expanding. The turn around will be slow and our recovery will be very slow compared to last recoveries and growth economies, such as the post-9/11 economic cycle.
Friday Flip Day Stocks are zooming and mortgage backs are tanking as I write this at 10:00 Pacific. Yesterday’s gains, and most of Thursday’s are gone. This shows the importance of taking the best rate you can on the day it is available, waiting for something better in this market usually has you missing a dip.
Rates for Friday September 4th:
FIXED RATE MORTGAGES AT COST OF 1 POINT*
30 year conventional 4.875% Unchanged
30 year conforming-jumbo 5.25% Down 0.125%
30 year FHA 5.00% Unchanged
30 year FHA jumbo 5.25% Down 0.125%
Remember we have true, honest to goodness quality Jumbo rates again! Call for quotes as they vary depending on LTV, FICO and loan amount.
Please note that these are base rates and adjustments may be added for condominiums, refinances, credit scores, loan to value, and period rate is locked (i.e 45 days instead of 30 days).
NO CHART DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES
Please note that rates quoted are based on average of several lenders for a purchase transaction with 20% down payment and a minimum FICO score of 740; APR is not quoted as it is dependent upon specific loan amounts, lenders and services selected. Numbers provided are for comparative purposes only.
How great is family? My big brother and his wife have agreed to take the girls and the dog for the weekend. How great are neighbors? Our great neighbors the Irwins have agreed to watch the house and make sure the pool water stays the right temperature over the weekend. How great is it to be able to get away for a weekend with your wife and relax without any worries? Really, really great!
Enjoy the last official weekend of summer! Back to school next week.
Have a great weekend,
Dennis
Remember this update is posted weekly on My Blog at www.DennisCSmith.com ; feel free to forward the link to family and friends who may be interested in past commentaries.
Follow me on Twitter for market updates throughout the day.
Question of the week: Courtesy of Marilyn Kalfus from the Orange County Register and author of the Huntington Homes real estate blog: What do you see for the local real estate markets for the Fall of 2009?
Answer: There are several factors that will impact the local real estate markets in the coming month, in no particular order:
Continued impact of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) Existing home sales in August dropped below existing home sales in July, which was a surprise to the “experts.” Many of the pundits were scratching their heads of this drop in transactions in the month that is usually the hottest for real estate sales. The drop is not a surprise however to those of us on the front lines battling bad appraisals that have caused countless homes in the Southern California region and throughout the country to fall out of escrow. Congress and the media have no concept of how deleterious the HVCC process has been on squelching home sales. When ever anything anti-HVCC is posted on Marilyn’s or other blogs the home grown “experts” accuse me and others of sour grapes because now “true” appraisals are being forced on us. Every time I see a comment like that I know it is from someone who has as much clue about the real estate industry as I have about avionics; just because I can fly on a Delta flight from LAX to JFK does not mean I know how to build a plane. As we continue to be forced to use the HVCC process we will continue to see homes fall out of escrow or home prices falsely decline by bad appraisals from bad appraisals. (Skip to next point if you want, real life example on my desk: Detached single family home in small and desirable pocket neighborhood with less than 100 homes and an association. Appraiser used condos, including upstairs units, for comparables and no surprise brought in 10% below sales price. Pulling single family residence, detached property comps shows sales price is at least 10% below like properties. Typical transaction we are dealing with now.)
Encroaching impact of Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA) You know when the government puts “improvement” in a title it is anything but. This new act that took effect July 31st impacted many sales in August as it caused lenders to have to reject applications for technical issues as to when a Truth In Lending disclosure was provided to the borrower and when an appraisal was ordered. This new act has added time to closings due to delaying when appraisals can be ordered, when loan documents can be ordered and when mortgages can fund. Undoubtedly some of the decline in sales in August were the result of delays due to the MDIA which can cost rate locks to be lost and closings delayed.
New Regulations Currently the Fed appears to be making a massive power grab for more control over the lending and borrowing industries. They have a 195 proposal currently being circulated that will further increase the regulatory processes lenders and brokers must endure to get from step A to step almost B. As these regulations are put into policy we will experience more delays and also tighter criteria preventing Americans from buying homes. Fighting the power play Barney Frank (D-NY) chair of one of the most powerful committees in Washington is now on the record saying he wants my industry, mortgage brokers, to go out of business. Actually he stated he wants us to face death panels. He wants a vote by November, this is the ultimate regulation and reduces consumer choice, creates higher rates and fees and will eliminate many borrowers from home ownership. But hey the whole real estate/credit crisis was the fault of mortgage brokers right? I mean all of are greedy ogres preying on the American people and the only bad people in the entire real estate industry are mortgage brokers, no bad direct lenders, no bad real estate agents. Sorry, this goes right to my core to hear a corrupt politician like Barney Frank disparage me and my industry that has helped millions of American families become, and remain, home owners. Anyway, back on topic, as this continues with other new regulations you can count on them dampening home sales.
Foreclosure Moratorium Impacting the re-sale market from the supply side is the expiration of the foreclosure moratorium in California. This will result in thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of properties being put on the market in the coming months as banks conclude the foreclosure process on properties that were affected by the moratorium. Depending on how banks handle the release of these properties to market we could see a glut of homes on the market forcing prices down.
First Time Home Buyer Credit As I have been writing every week, the federal tax credit of up to $8000 expires at the end of November. All transactions for those eligible and applying for the credit must be closed by the end of business on November 30, 2009. Unless an extension of the credit is announced we should see an uptick in demand in October and November as buyers rush to take advantage of the credit. Should the credit be extended I foresee no change in demand due to the credit.
Changes in FHA FHA is pulling back on condominium financing and also may impose a 5% minimum down instead of the 3.5% current down payment. As well FHA is tightening requirements for lenders and brokers to be able to originate and fund FHA mortgages, reducing the supply of available options for borrowers. Finally, many lenders are tightening guidelines for FHA guidelines further restricting the pool of eligible borrowers. Fewer borrowers, less demand, lower prices.
Higher Rates? The Federal Reserve has been extremely active in purchasing Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), having committed $1.2 trillion to the program. They have announced that starting next week they will slow down their purchase of MBS and continue the purchasing program into 2010. Because of their pulling back on their purchases we will see a decrease in demand for MBS, lower demand means lower prices, lower prices for bonds means higher yields, higher yields means higher interest rates for borrowers. Also impacting rates will be the continued positive economic news, as our economy transitions from recession to flat to growth rates will increase as investors hedge against inflation and demand shrinks as investors move to stocks. Higher rates mean fewer qualified borrowers.
Give us an answer! Okay, okay! Before I do let’s look at where the market is today, the first week of Fall. Prices are stabilizing in many markets, particularly traditional first time borrower markets. Rates are very low, very-very-very low. Despite the issues with appraisals, new disclosure regulations, short sales and bureaucrats in an office in Delaware acting as the seller, we have somewhat healthy market, with the exception of the upper end properties. With the higher rates and influx of properties from the expiration of the foreclosure moratorium in the coming months I predict a dip in prices and a new wave of first time buyers entering the market in the fall creating more sales transactions. Should the first time buyer credit be extended this wave of buying can continue into 2010—re-stabilizing the market prices in the first quarter of the new year. While summer is usually the more active season, we can see return to June/July levels should the inventory on the market increase dampening prices and expanding the amount of qualified buyers in the marketplace.
Predictions are like opinions, everyone has one and not every one is right. My call on the economy at the beginning of 2009 appears pretty close, we’ll check back in December and again in March to see how this one goes.
Another crazy week as we saw daily swings in the market from big lows to late rallies. Our economic data was a bit mixed but over all positive. What has the biggest impact moving forward is what I mentioned above: the Fed slowing its purchase of mortgage backed securities. Its, the Fed’s, participation on such a large scale this year in the market has created artificially low interest rates. They have definitely benefited borrowers with lower rates, but that party is due to end sometime. As well their pumping an extra $1 trillion into the economy through the purchase program adds to the monetary supply and that….is inflationary.
While inflation is somewhat in check it is sort of like the water that builds behind some logs across a stream. As more debris is forced up against the logs and rains bring more water into the stream the build up grows, eventually the build up is too much and the dam breaks. When it does look out downstream as flood waters are coming. Right now in our economy the money supply is backing up against some debris in the economy, once it is cleared out look out.
Mortgage Backed Securities have jumped up and down all week with the result being conforming loans ending the week flat and other products seeing a dip.
Rates for Friday September 25th:
30 year conventional 4.75% FLAT
30 year conforming-jumbo 5.00% Down 0.125%
30 year FHA 4.75% Down 0.125%
30 year FHA jumbo 5.125% Down 0.125%
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Last week our family celebrated my daughter’s 10th birthday, this coming week our company celebrates its 10th Anniversary. Yes, on September 29, 1999 Stratis Financial Corporation was formed by six guys who thought they had a good concept for the industry: focus on the client and providing great service, treat everyone with honesty and respect, maintain high standards. Our motto from the beginning has been Serious About Service and it is more than a motto for everyone at Stratis. I could not be more proud of my association with my partners, my co-workers, my professional partners and especially my clients these past ten years.
To the thousands of clients we have worked with over the past decade: thank you so much for entrusting us with your mortgage transactions. To the real estate professionals, agents, appraisers, escrow officers and assistants, title reps and officers, underwriters, funders, wholesale reps, we thank you as well for your partnerships as we put families into their homes and help them retain them.
What a great business! I love it and look forward to the next decade!
If you need me this weekend I am around, although on Saturday afternoon we are having Blaire’s “family” party so I will be busy manning the grill and making some ceviche with fresh tuna caught by Mike, one of the Stratis partners, who graciously has provided several coolers of fish from his recent trip. Some tuna, a little lime juice, some jalepeno…..perhaps a margarita or cold beer? Oh yeah that’s a Saturday afternoon! Thanks for the fish Mike!
Question of the week: Our lives have been filled with conversations, some louder than others, about health insurance, what about home insurance?
Answer: What about it? Get it.
Okay, I’ll go a little deeper. Believe it or not your homeowner’s insurance, also known as fire insurance, is optional under law—but lenders can and do make it a requirement to obtain financing. If you own your home free and clear, however you do not have to have any insurance.
Homeowners’ policies cover many incidents besides fire. The basic part of the policy does cover the structure from accidents, if your washer floods the home and damages carpets the insurance should cover replacing the carpet, if your coq au vin catches fire and damages your oven and cupboards the policy covers replacing both; if a neighborhood kid learning to drive puts the family Tahoe through your garage door your policy covers replacement—although realistically his parents auto policy should cover it.
Also included in most policies is liability coverage. Basically the liability coverage protects you and your equity against lawsuits should someone become injured on your property. Such is the state of our state and tort excess that if the same kid who rammed your garage door tries to scale your cinder block wall in the back to steal some juicy peaches and falls and breaks his arm you are at fault and your insurance will cover you from the pending lawsuit since he no longer has a future as the quarterback for the Detroit Lions. If your postal carrier trips over the hose you left over the walkway to your mailbox and gets injured your policy will cover any medical expenses brought by the carrier.
Also included in the policy are the contents of your home. This amount can vary so you need to check with your insurance agent to see if you have adequate coverage. If your home resembles my dorm room in college with sparse and meager furnishings you probably need minimal contents coverage. If you have a world renowned collection of rare Elvis plates or extensive amounts of designer jewelry, you will want to discuss increasing your contents coverage to protect your possessions against theft and damage due to fire or other accidents.
Regarding theft, if your home is burglarized your policy covers repairing any damage caused by the dirty rotten b*$&@% who broke into your home as well as any loss.
What if your home is damaged when torrential rains cause the drainage canal to overflow and it flows into your home? Probably not covered unless you have flood insurance—very costly. If you are in an area prone to flooding but are not in a Federal Flood Zone (where flood insurance is required) check with your agent as to your options.
What if your home is damaged by a 5.7 rumbler? Unless you have a specific earthquake policy, also expensive with very high deductible, you are probably not covered for any damage, again check with your insurance agent. Note that this policy is not required by lenders and as such are not listed as a loss-payee on the policy.
For owners, or buyers, or condominiums, most of the structure is covered by the master policy held by the homeowners’ association. New buyers in California are being required by lenders to obtain what is commonly referred to as “renters’ insurance” or the contents policy. Increasingly in California master policies are not covering cabinets, fixtures or other aspects of the dwelling damaged by fire or plumbing issues. To insure the buyer is able to make necessary repairs lenders are now requiring this policy.
Just as you go into your doctor for an annual check up you should contact your insurance agent for a coverage check up. Check your homeowner’s policy, your auto policies and your life policies.
And be safe!
The IRS has received 1.4 million claims for the tax credit so far in 2009.
Earlier in the year, while criticizing the $787 stimulus package I based my criticism on two points. One, that the current recession would bottom out and the economy begin to turn in late 2009. Two, that 90% of the stimulus funds would not enter the economy until well into 2010 or later, when the recession would be over and recovery already under way, too much too late.
Earlier this week Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the recession is “very likely over.” While he did not say he thought the stimulus package was a waste of tax payer money, he will start to comment soon on the Federal Reserve having a close eye on the inflation that will result when those funds and other government debt hits the market. We cannot run trillion plus dollar deficits, borrower trillion plus dollars on Treasury auctions, and not expect the money injected into the economy to not have an inflationary impact. After, the Fed gets to print money without having any tangible assets to back up the bills coming off the press.
Happy, Happy, Happy, friends and watchers of Chef Emiril Lagasse will recognize this phrase from when he throws bacon or garlic into his sauté pan. Where economic news part of the stew Emiril would be saying that this week. Let’s recap the economic reports that should have caused a big swing upwards in rates this week when combined with last week’s positive news as well:
* New Housing Starts: UP
* Initial Jobless Claims: DOWN
* Retail Sales: UP and HOT
* CPI: UP (double the estimate)
* PPI: UP and very HOT
While this is one week of numbers and represent major numbers for the Price Indexes, the gauges for inflation, they are indicative of a positive environment and future for our economy—should things continue as they are. Keep in mind, as those indexes go up higher the Fed will respond with raising the Fed Funds and Discount rates, treasury auctions and mortgage backed security auctions will see lower prices and rate will climb. Good news for the economy is generally not good news for interest rates. Those higher rates can choke off economic growth, and with inflation present the Fed will be restricted as to moves it can make to spur growth while keeping inflation in check.
The inflation target for most Federal Reserve actions is around 3%. Historically it has been a number that has allowed sustainable and moderate growth in the economy. Below that number and job growth is difficult, above that number and the cost of credit hampers expansion and growth for industries and companies.
Looking to next week the big impact on rates should be yet another set of Treasury auctions, over $100 billion next week in 2, 5 and 7 year notes will be put on the block. The last several auctions have been very well received, how long can it continue?
Mortgage Backed Securities gave a little back this week using the positive economic news to engage in some profit taking. Thankfully yesterday was such a strong day in the bond markets, however even with yesterday’s big gains rates are slightly higher from last Friday.
Rates for Friday September 18th:
30 year conventional 4.75% Up 0.125%
30 year conforming-jumbo 5.125% Up 0.25%
30 year FHA 4.875% Up 0.25%
30 year FHA jumbo 5.25% Unchanged
Our oldest turns 10 tomorrow, wow. I am looking forward to enjoying as much of her ten-ness as I can because I know the teen years are not too far off and from what I hear those years can at times be less than enjoyable. We are very proud of our Blaire and her path thus far. If you need me tomorrow I will be standing in lines at Disneyland until late afternoon so please leave detailed messages on my voicemail or in your e-mails!
Happy Birthday Blaire, and also to your birthday buddy Aunt Kelly-Kelly! (Who is not 10 J )
Leslie and I were in Scottsdale last week celebrating our 15th Anniversary, unfortunately our room had very poor internet and not everyone received my weekly update, it can be found at www.DennisCSmith.com/MyBlog scroll past this week’s to last week’s if you wish to catch up.
Question of the week: How does everyone get paid in a real estate transaction?
Answer: Many years ago someone told me that when a family buys a home 100 people go to work: real estate agents, loan originator, processors, appraiser, termite inspector and contractors, title officer, escrow officer, underwriter, document drawer, county clerk employees, home inspector, on and on. With so many different industries and people involved it is easy to see how the real estate industry is a major influence in our nation’s economy. So who gets paid how?
Everyone on the “front-line” of a transaction is paid on a commission basis, no one gets paid until a transaction is closed and the funds from the buyers’ side of the transaction transfer to the sellers’ side of the transaction.
Real Estate Agents Real estate agents are paid through the sellers’ side of a transaction. When an agent takes a listing, an agreement between the seller and the agent to compensate the agent if the property sells under certain conditions, a commission amount is agreed upon as to what percentage of the sales price the seller will pay out of proceeds. The agent then puts the listing on the local multiple listing service advising other real estate professionals the home is on the market and at that time also informs the agents what the commission will be to the agent that represents the buyer of the property. So the commission is split between the listing agent (represents seller) and the selling agent (represents buyer). Note that while the listing agent has a signed contract with the seller, most agents do not have such contracts with buyers. They work to find the right home for a family but do so on the trust that those potential buyers they have been working with will continue to work with them through escrow and not be pressured into writing an offer with another agent at an open house or through a casual meeting. Until the escrow closes no real estate agents are paid.
Loan Originators Like real estate agents we work on commission and are not paid until the mortgage funds and the deeds recorded. While we provide detailed disclosures of fees in the transaction, currently brokers are the only ones in California who must also disclose what will be paid to the broker and what is paid to others in the transaction. Our compensation comes in the form of “points” or origination fees, generally a percentage of the loan amount, and may also come in the form of yield spread premiums—which is how we can do no point loans (note that the federal government is currently reviewing and leaning to eliminating yield spread premiums which would eliminate no point options for borrowers, every transaction would have to have points to compensate lenders directly which will limit the options available to borrowers). The origination fees can be paid by anyone in the transaction, borrower, seller through credit, agents through credit or as mentioned by the bank in the form of a yield spread premium or rebate.
Escrow Company Escrow companies and escrow officers are also paid when the transaction closes. Since escrow represents both parties in a transaction, handling paperwork and financial details for both the buyer and seller, both parties pay the escrow company fee. It is generally split evenly between the two sides of the transaction.
Title Insurance The title insurance fees are split between the buyer and the seller but not evenly as they are with escrow. The seller pays a higher insurance premium in the transaction and the buyer pays a lower amount. In a nut shell the seller’s premium goes to insuring the title is clear, that they seller has the ability to deliver clear title for the property described and covered. The buyer’s premium goes to insuring the lender that theirs is the only lien on title, other than those disclosed for taxes, homeowners, etc.
Inspectors Home inspectors who perform a very valuable service of inspecting the structural and mechanical integrity of a property are paid before they begin their work by the buyer. As well appraisers are paid when there work is ordered, also from the buyer. This makes sense because if the home is found to have significant faults, or if the value is determined to be significantly lower than the sales price some buyers would balk at paying the fee for the work already accomplished.
As I mentioned there are many more people involved in a real estate transaction but these are the ones that come into the most direct contact wit the buyer and the seller. Most of us are commission based and do all of our work before getting paid—keep that in mind if you are asking many people to help you find a home or a loan, only one will get paid and the rest have worked for you for free.
FREE CREDIT PAY-OFF WORKSHOP! Next Thursday September 17th from 6:30 to 8:00(ish) in Seal Beach I will be presenting my Stop, Drop and Roll! Up your credit workshop. I will present a proven plan to for those looking for tools to pay off their revolving credit debt and get off the path of debt payments and onto the path of saving and investing. The workshop is free but workshop supplies are limited so if you wish to attend please contact me and I will forward the location and information and sign you up to ensure you have a workbook. This method has been used by several of my clients in the past who have gone from swamped with debt and renting to saving money and becoming homeowners. Give me a call or email and get your name on the list.
It looks like Mortgage Backed Securities will finish the day “green” again, meaning closing with market gains (remember prices up, rates down) for the 13th time in the past 14 trading days. This is the longest period of gains since last November, which you can see on the chart is when we saw a big rate drop over several weeks.
Long time readers may recall me writing about trading ranges. Every commodity and market has a range of the highest and lowest price for the item that is being bought and sold. For a period of time the prices will be in between that ceiling and that floor. From time to time market forces, politics, whatever will cause the price of the commodity to break through the ceiling or through floor. If the price stays above or below for a period of time a new range is established for that product.
For several weeks we spent most Fridays around 4.875% on the conforming rate (on purchase, single family residence, 20% down, 740+ FICO score, 1 point, etc, etc). Now we have two weeks in a row below that number. As well we have 14 trading days supporting a lower rate on the 30 year mortgage. I suspect we are establishing a new trading range.
A major factor in our rates dropping and staying in positive territory for so many days is that investors are still snapping up our national debt. The Treasury auctions the past month have been very well received, most significant was the number of bidders when the Treasury sold 30 year notes earlier this week—a direct competitor for the 30 year mortgage backed security.
As long as investors want to buy our debt we will see rates stay low, and they are very, very low having dropped more than 1% since last September. How long with this last? Not long enough for many, but longer than many others may have anticipated or predicted—myself included.
30 year conventional 4.625% Down 0.125%
30 year conforming-jumbo 5.00% Down 0.25%
30 year FHA 4.75% Down 0.25%
Remember we have true, honest to goodness quality Jumbo rates again! Call for quotes as they vary depending on LTV, FICO and loan amount. $1 million for under 6%?!?! YES!
Eight years ago this morning America was attacked by terrorists and innocent Americans at work, on their way home from a trip, off to visit friends lost their lives. We entered a new era, our nation’s history was divided between pre-9/11 and post-9/11. As we travel further from that awful and tragic day the pain and emotion of that day diminishes for many, while our pain and hurt may diminish our memories should not. America was attacked because we are America, we are a nation based upon the principals of freedom and liberty for all. We were attacked because of the equal rights we give to all our citizens, men and women, young and old, Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and Atheists, Christians and Sikhs. What makes us strong, what makes us the greatest nation in human history is also what makes us a target by those who desire none of what we are blessed to have. God bless those souls whose lives were lost in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, their families and our country.
Dennis C. Smith, California Dept. of Real Estate Broker #00966315 Stratis Financial Corporation, California Dept. of Real Estate Broker #01269597
Dennis C. Smith, California Dept. of Real Estate Broker #00966315
Stratis Financial Corporation, California Dept. of Real Estate Broker #01269597
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