Remerica - Traverse City Real Estate -

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Traverse Mortgage Corporation

Ph: 231-947-9800

Tollfree: 800-968-3680

Week of: Monday, August 18, 2008

Present Market Conditions
Mortgage rates barely reacted to last week's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which showed that inflation rose more than was expected, and ended the week essentially unchanged. Mortgage rates usually move higher after an unexpected increase in inflation. This time they did not.

Expectations
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Gary Stern noted that the decline in energy prices has slowed the inflation outlook, allowing the Fed "to be patient" on whether to boost interest rates. Economic weakness at home and abroad, a stronger dollar, and a decline in oil prices is bringing hope to Wall Street investors that the Fed will refrain from raising interest rates this year.

Guidance
With housing prices favoring a buyer's market and rates holding, now is the best time to contact Georgie. Leverage her knowledge and expertise to structure a mortgage solution that meets your financial goals.

Week of: Sunday, June 29, 2008

Present Market Conditions
The Dow briefly crossed into bear market territory last Friday as oil prices hit a new record high, and more financial market woes rattled investors. As a result the bond market rallied, driving prices up and yields down. This is good news for mortgage interest rates, which move in the opposite direction of bond prices.

Expectations
"You have a very jittery market that's vulnerable to whatever the news is on a given day," said James King, chief investment officer at National Penn Investors Trust. This week (shortened by the Fourth of July holiday) has plenty of economic news on tap, including reports on manufacturing, construction, factory orders and the labor market.

Guidance
With housing prices favoring a buyers market and rates holding at historic lows, now is the best time to contact Georgie. Leverage her knowledge and expertise to structure a mortgage solution that meets your financial goals.

Week of: Monday, June 23, 2008

Present Market Conditions
Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages fell slightly last week as a result of a late boost in the bond market. Part of the boost was based on the stocks loss on Friday led by another steep decline in financial shares and a bounce higher for oil.

Expectations
Investors will be waiting anxiously due to the number of economic reports due this week. "I think we're going to have another volatile session," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners. The major factors that could affect pricing are Durable Goods Orders, Gross Domestic Products, Jobless Claims, and the two day meeting of the Federal Reserve.

Guidance
With housing prices favoring a buyers market and rates holding at historic lows, now is the best time to contact Georgie so she can structure a mortgage solution to meet your financial goals.

Week of: Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Present Market Conditions
Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages fell slightly last week as a result of the increased price in Treasury Bonds according to Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. Part of the increase was based on the speculation that the Fed will not be decreasing rates. "The thinking is that they will stay on hold, and that's good for Treasurys," said John Spinello, bond strategist at Jefferies & Co. "There's also some speculation that if you get a pickup in the economy that the Fed might raise rates. I don't agree with the tightening, and more likely they'll stay on hold for the rest of the year."

Expectations
Despite this being a shortened business week, there will be much activity. Investors will be anxiously waiting for the results of the Consumer Sentiment, GDP, Consumer Confidence Index, New Homes Sales and the Jobless Claims reports all due out this week.

Week of: Monday, May 12, 2008

Present Market Conditions
The entire economy, including buyers, is in a wait and watch stance to survey the effects of the latest FED rate cut. "Despite a weak housing market, mortgage rates remained almost unchanged this week based on better-than-expected economic data releases that indicated the economy still has some staying power," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. Fannie Mae announced that it will buy the new Jumbo Conforming mortgages for the same prices as those below the old conforming loan limit, which should make some larger mortgages more affordable.

Expectations
Housing inventories are expected to drop to 400,000 (seven-month supply) by the end of '08 and to a five month supply sometime in '09. A five-month supply has historically signaled tightness in the housing market and normally results in a decline in rates. Expected to pass the Senate and be signed by the President, a $300 billion FHA housing loan guarantee program will assist troubled borrowers in refinancing into a mortgage with more affordable terms, resulting in a reduction in the number of foreclosures.

Guidance
Prolonged low interest rates and greater affordability (lowering home prices) will attract buyers into play; indeed it is a good time to buy. Now is the time to contact Georgie so she can structure a mortgage solution to meet your financial goals.

Week of: Monday, April 28, 2008

Present Market Conditions
U.S. stocks posted the first back-to-back weekly gains since February after earnings at Boeing Co. and Philip Morris International Inc. bolstered speculation that overseas growth will offset slower domestic demand. With stocks climbing, U.S. Treasury prices continued to decline and investors are now waging strong bets that the Federal Reserve will indicate this week it plans to end its campaign of interest rate cuts.

Expectations
The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by a quarter percentage point at its policy meeting on Wednesday. A growing number of economists predict the Fed will then keep rates on hold to ward off inflation. "What it means is that the market isn't so convinced that the economy is falling apart as it was a month ago," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard and Poor's. "It also means that investors are not expecting the Fed to go down as far--25 basis points instead of 50."

Guidance
Mortgage rates have an inverse relationship with bond prices. As bond prices continue to fall, it is likely to see an increase in mortgage interest rates. With current mortgage rates still at historically low levels, now is the time to contact Georgie so she can structure a mortgage solution to meet your financial goals.

Week of: Monday, April 07, 2008

Present Market Conditions
Rates eased slightly last week with the release of March's Jobs Report. However, in his testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress last week, Chairman Bernanke stated that the Federal Reserve remains cautiously optimistic on future economic growth. Bernanke predicts that growth is expected to proceed at or a little above its sustainable pace in 2009, bolstered by a stabilization of housing activity, albeit at low levels, and gradually improving financial conditions.

Expectations
With the Economic Calendar being a little lighter this week, look for investors to hold pending the Jobless Claims report due Thursday and the Consumer Sentiment Report due Friday.

Guidance
With current mortgage rates still remaining at historically low levels, now is the best time to contact Georgie so she can structure a mortgage solution to meet your financial goals.

Hello! There has been some exciting MSHDA changes. The new income limit for 1-2 persons is $73,080, for 3 or more the income limit is $85,260. Now, get this.........

the sales price limit has increased to $224,500!

The current 30 year MSHDA rate is at 5.5%

Call me if you would like more details.

Have a great weekend.

Georgie

There has been (and will be) many changes to mortgage financing. The media has stated that home buyers need 20% down in order to get financing. Please let your buyers know that we still have 100% financing through our government loans!

Now is a great time to purchase a home!

Week of: Monday, March 24, 2008

Present Market Conditions
In his report last week, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist Frank Nothaft stated that the Federal Reserve decided to lower the target federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage points to 2.25 percent in the Federal Open Market Committee last week. This is the sixth time the Federal Reserve has taken such rate reductions in the past six months. As a result, the federal funds rate is now 3.0 percentage points below where it was just six months ago. In addition, the magnitude of the three rate cuts so far this year is twice as large as all of the cuts from last year, which communicates both the urgency of the situation and the Fed's determination to avoid a recession and stabilize financial markets.

Expectations
Long term mortgage rates fell sharply in the past week as the Federal Reserve cut rates to stimulate the economy and increased liquidity to shore up financial markets. 30-year fixed rates averaged 5.87% this week compared to 6.13% last week according to Freddie Mac's mortgage market survey. Investors will be waiting for the results of the Jobless Claims and Consumer Sentiment reports due out later this week.

Guidance
With housing prices holding at an affordable level, now is a great time to explore your mortgage options. Contact Georgie so she can structure a mortgage solution to meet your financial goals.

Week of: Monday, March 10, 2008

Present Market Conditions
Tremendous volatility was the continued theme for financial markets last week. Investors and consumers are hopeful that aggressive Federal Reserve actions coordinated with strong banking industry reforms might counter much of the negative news that is dominating the major media outlets. Record high oil prices and the latest job loss numbers have created the most recent round of negative sentiment.

Expectations
Another expected Feds Funds rate cut on March 18th will, at a minimum, add some psychological improvement to the housing and financial market woes. FNMA and FHLMC raised their lending limits, allowing for greater access to capital and the ability for the nations two largest investors to help struggling homeowners refinance and purchase homes. Middle range fixed rate mortgages, those with fixed terms between 5 and 7 years, should become very attractive over the coming weeks and months.

Guidance

Now is an excellent time for consumers to take advantage of the historically low rates. Contact Georgie to discuss a tailored mortgage solution to meet your unique financial goals.

Week of: Monday, January 28, 2008

Present Market Conditions
U.S. stocks were poised for a rough start last week as investors watched overseas markets tumble and awaited the upcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting along with President Bush's final State of the Union address. Stock losses were Treasuries gain as money flowed back into the bond market to wrap up last weeks crazy ride. More dire news from the financial sector made the case for investors to seek safe harbor, the bond market.

Expectations
"Economic news released last week confirmed the weak condition of the housing market," Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft said in a statement. "When the Federal Reserve cut the target federal funds rate by three quarters of a percentage point, the action was extraordinary in both the magnitude and the timing of the rate cut," he said. Mortgage companies will be looking toward the January results of the Consumer Sentiment and Unemployment Reports due out at the end of the week.

Guidance
Not since 2004 have mortgage interest rates been this low, now is an excellent time to secure your home mortgage financing. Consult Georgie for answers to your financial needs.

Week of: Monday, January 14, 2008

Present Market Conditions
U.S. stocks pointed to a modestly higher opening this week after they declined last week on increasing concerns about the economy. The darkening outlook has also raised hopes that the Fed would slash rates before its next meeting. Futures had wavered earlier amid concerns about upcoming bank earnings and a profit warning from retailer Sears. With no major economic reports due out at the beginning of the week, Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. said stocks were also enjoying a technical bounce after last week's steep selloff.

Expectations
With the dollar extending three weeks of declines as Federal Reserve officials including Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled they favor greater ``insurance'' against an economic slowdown amid the slump in the housing market. European Central Bank council member Klaus Liebscher said he sees ``significant'' upside risks to inflation. With this news, investors will be looking for significant rate cut by the Fed later this month.

Guidance
With rates hovering around a two year low and the start of a new economic year, now is an excellent time to secure your home mortgage financing. Consult Georgie for an answer to your financial needs.

Week of: Monday, December 17, 2007

Present Market Conditions
The mood on Wall Street has been grim lately amid worries that rising inflation will limit the Federal Reserve's ability to keep cutting interest rates. The Fed has cut rates at its last three meetings in an effort to relieve some of the pressures in the credit markets and to keep the economy from falling into recession. Stocks point to a slow start for the beginning of the week due to the worries over inflation and the overall economic atmosphere.

Expectations
In a televised interview Sunday, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned that the U.S. economy was beginning to show early symptoms of stagflation, a condition where the economy experiences slow growth and higher inflation. With the lack luster holiday sales and stocks starting off rocky and oil jumping to $92 a barrel, rates should hold relatively steady for the week in this current stagflating market pondering the outcome of the GDP and Consumer Sentiment reports due out later this week. The GDP report is released on Thursday and the Consumer Sentiment report is on Friday.

Guidance
With the current movement in the market, now is a great time to secure your financing with Georgie. She will guide you toward the best mortgage product to meet your financial goals.Week of: Monday, December 31, 2007

Present Market Conditions
Stocks opened lower this week starting off with the last trading day of the year, as investors awaited more housing data. Markets closed mixed Friday, after a turbulent week of low volume sessions, as housing and other economic concerns erased hopes of a year-end rally. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses rose 0.4 percent in November from October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units.

Expectations
Economists were calling for home sales to either move up slightly or hold steady for November. Stronger consumer spending and an increase in the core price deflator in November caused long-term bond yields to inch up over the end of last week and beginning of this week. As a result, mortgage rates followed. Offsetting some of the impacts from the inflation numbers, however, was a decline in November's index of leading economic indicators and a weak manufacturing report in Philadelphia for December according to Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist for Freddie Mac. Look for rates to hold relatively steady throughout the week.

Guidance
With the Christmas Holiday wrapping up and the market waiting for the post holiday reports, now is a great time to secure your financing with Georgie. She will guide you toward the best mortgage product to meet your financial goals for the New Year!

Mortgage Forecast