With little economic data on the schedule for last week, the major economic story during the week was the continued rise in oil prices, which hit a new record high of $126 per barrel. Oil prices have nearly doubled since last summer. A major Wall Street investment bank issued a forecast this week that predicted a spike in oil prices to between $150 and $200 per barrel, possibly before the end of the year.

The impact of rising oil prices on mortgage markets could be either positive or negative, depending on a couple of factors. Rising oil prices lead to higher prices for goods and services, and higher inflation usually leads to higher mortgage rates. On the other hand, higher energy costs slow economic activity, which serves to reduce inflationary pressures. In general, stock investors don’t like to see higher oil prices, while mortgage investors are less concerned. Delaware Mortgage Rates ended the week about where they started. Keep Reading...

Fannie Mae announced a series of new initiatives called “Keys to Recovery” in its first quarter 2008 report this week. The new effort is geared toward providing liquidity, stability, and affordability to the housing and mortgage markets for the long term, keeping struggling borrowers in their homes, assisting prospective home buyers with home purchases, and stabilizing communities affected by the mortgage market downturn. According to the report, the initiatives include:

1) A new refinancing option for up-to-date but “underwater” borrowers with loans owned by Fannie Mae that will allow for refinancing up to 120 percent of a property’s current value; Keep Reading...

The U.S. House of Representatives was very busy Thursday, passing The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act (H.R. 3221) by a vote of 266 to 154, and The Neighborhood Stabilization Act (H.R. 5818) by a vote of 239-188. This sweeping legislation is Congress’ most comprehensive attempt yet to address foreclosures in the housing market. The bill includes versions of H.R. 5830, H.R. 1852, H.R. 1427, H.R. 5579, and amendments to Preserving the American Dream for Our Nation’s Veterans. The plan is projected to help roughly 500,000 borrowers at a cost of $2.7 billion over five years. Keep Reading...

Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking your Delaware Mortgage Loan Rate.

As always – consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.

The balance of Trade for last month was slightly lower. Yesterday, two European banks left interest rates unchanged as a fight against inflation.  This helped bonds here in the U.S. tick up a few notches. The new record prices of oil and further problems in the insurance industry have not been helping bonds this morning. Keep Reading...

Here are the daily thoughts on floating or locking your Delaware Mortgage Loan Rate.

As always – consult your favorite mortgage professional who will be able to offer the best advice for YOUR unique situation.

It was a great day for MBS (Mortgage Backed Securities) yesterday as a sell-off in stocks prompted bond buying. The 5.5% coupon finished the day at 100-23 which is almost enough profit margin to bring 5.5% at PAR within reach for many wholesalers (some of the more aggressively priced will be there) IF WE HOLD THE GAINS. Keep Reading...

The Labor Department gave us today’s only relevant economic news with the release of the 1st Quarter Productivity and Costs data. It showed a 2.2% increase in productivity, which exceeded forecasts by a fairly large margin. This is good news for bonds because higher levels of productivity allow the economy to expand with low levels of inflation.

The first of this week’s two most important Treasury auctions will take place today. The Treasury Department will hold a 10-year Note sale today and a 30 Year Bond sale tomorrow. Results of the auctions will be posted at 1:30 PM ET. If they were met with strong demand from investors, we could see bond prices rise enough during afternoon trading to cause downward revisions to mortgage rates. However, lackluster bidding could lead to higher mortgage pricing this afternoon and/or possibly tomorrow.

There is no relevant economic data scheduled for release tomorrow except the weekly unemployment figures from the Labor Department. They are expected to report that 375,000 new claims for benefits were filed last week. A significantly larger number would be good news for bonds and mortgage rates, while a sizable decline could hurt rates. If they report a figure anywhere close to the 375,000, this data will likely have little impact on the markets or mortgage rates tomorrow.

If you have questions about mortgages or would like information on getting a mortgage, please feel free to call me (John Thomas) at 302-368-7132, you can APPLY ONLINE HERE.

John R. Thomas – NMLS 38783

Certified Mortgage Planner – Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.

302-703-0727 DE Office / 610-906-3109 PA Office / 410-412-3319 MD Office

248 E Chestnut Hill Rd, Newark, DE 19713