GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:  The second quarter GDP growth was revised upward to an annual rate of +3.3% from the earlier estimate of +1.9%. This was surprising.  Much of the gain was due to rising exports and falling imports, both due to the weakened dollar. In addition, consumer spending for the quarter was a robust +1.7%, partly due to the tax rebate payments. The tax rebates have ended and the dollar is strengthening.

The Economist is predicting annual GDP growth in 2008 of 0.8%. For 2009, it predicts 1.1% annual growth. T. Rowe Price economists predict GDP growth of 1.8% for 2008 and 1.5% in 2009. It is difficult to find economists predicting a bright rest of 2008 or 2009. (Caveat: See many of my earlier statements on economist predictions and The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.)

MARKET REACTIONS: 

The markets seemed suspicious of the GDP report; not willing to bet on continued strong growth without the federal stimulus payments. The Dow Jones Industrials were down 0.72% (down 12.98% for the year) and the S & P 500 was similarly down 0.72% (down 12.64% for the year). Keep Reading...

This is my advice on floating or locking your Delaware Mortgage Rate for Friday, August 29, 2008.

The Core PCE rose by 0.3% higher than we would have liked to see. This is an indication of inflation which is typically bad news for mortgage-backed securities. Income fell by 0.7%, yet spending managed to increase by 0.2%. For more information visit July Income Drop

We had 4 straight days of gains and the technicals are suggesting we might experience a pullback. Bonds are already trading lower than yesterday and have fallen through the 100-day moving average. Keep Reading...

This is my daily advice on whether to float or lock your Delaware Mortgage Rate for Wednesday, August 27, 2008.

The market received better than expected news when the durable goods report came out much better than expected. This news should have been mortgage bond unfriendly and pushed rates higher but the bond market held its ground.  Also, stocks are being boosted today by a speech from Federal Chairman Lockhart who same inflation was tame.  Even with stocks pushing higher bonds are maintaining the gains they have gotten. This shows a strong resistance and looks like bonds could move higher. Keep Reading...

There will be a Free Delaware First Time Home Buyer Seminar on Saturday September 27, 2008, at 10:00 AM. The seminar will last about 2 hours and each participant will be able to receive a free copy of their tri-merge credit report. The seminar will cover all of the basics of buying a new home in Delaware. The seminar will cover Delaware FHA loans, Delaware VA loans, My Community loans, First Time Home Buyer Loan Programs, and the Delaware USDA Rural Housing Program.

Each participant will receive a Free Audio CD on Credit Scoring, Credit Scoring Handbook, Homebuying Handbook, and an opportunity to meet with a mortgage planner to be pre-approved to buy a home at the seminar. You will also learn the importance of credit in buying a home and learn valuable tips on how to improve your credit score. Learn what programs are available to help with down payment and closing costs. The new loan limits for conventional and FHA will be covered as well as changes to borrowing 100% financing. Keep Reading...

There will be a free seminar for real estate professionals on The Keys to Government Financing. The seminar will be on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, and will from

6:30 PM till 8:00 PM Keep Reading...

This is my daily advice on floating or locking your Delaware Mortgage Rate for Tuesday, August 26, 2008.

Monday we saw the mortgage-backed securities end up which should be good for mortgage rates. Today we had news on New home sales for July 2008 came out slightly less than expected.  Consumer Confidence came in better than expected. The U.S. Dollar strengthened against the Euro on news that the German economy might be slipping into a recession. The median home price in the United States rose again this month but still down 12.1% from the peak in 2007. The Fed Minutes from the last meeting were released today and the summary was continued downside growth, inflation to moderate but still concerned, Commercial real estate and business spending coming under pressure. Keep Reading...

This is my daily advice on whether to float or lock your Delaware Mortgage Rate for Thursday, August 21, 2008.

The mortgage back securities have experienced some selling pressure this morning and the bond is down. Lenders may come out with re-price for the worse. With so much gain in MBS over the last couple days, this pullback today is expected.  If your lender hasn’t repriced for the worst and you are closing next week, you may want to lock in your Delaware Mortgage Rate.  But long term it looks like this is a natural pullback today and we could go up again tomorrow or next week. A correction is always expected after a very good run. For more information on how the market reacted to the news today visit Keep Reading...

This is my daily advice on Floating or Locking your Delaware Mortgage Rate for Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Mortgage Backed Securities ended the day higher yesterday and have moved up above the 50 days moving average for the first time in 3 months.  There was bad news released for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac again. Their stock has been downgraded again.

Mortgage Backed Securities are rallying today so my advice is to float as we may get a lender re-price for the better today.  If we close above the 50-day moving average that would be very technically significant.  If you need help understanding Mortgage Backed Securities please visit http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage_rates/mbs-basics.asp  Keep Reading...