Archive for October, 2009

Congress Passes Resolution to Extend Higher GSE Loan Limits through 2010

Friday, October 30th, 2009

The resolution would extend the present conventional loan limits for Fannie and Freddie through the 2010 calendar year at 125 percent of local median home sales prices, up to a maximum of $729,750 in high-cost areas. The floor for FHA is $271,050; the floor for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming ...

The Day Ahead: Markets Flat Ahead of Income Data

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Upbeat earnings and the +3.5% GDP report helped US stocks jump around 2% yesterday, though the gains weren’t enough to wipe out losses from earlier in the week. The market is still down 2.9% from its annual high on October 19. This morning Dow Futures are looking down 32.00 points at ...

Fed MBS Purchases Still Slowing. No Effect on Values Yet

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

The Federal Reserve today reported on their weekly purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS). In the five trading days between October 22 and October 28, the Federal Reserve purchased a total of $21.906 billion agency MBS. In those five days the Federal Reserve sold $3.906 million agency MBS (dollar ...

Freddie and Fannie: Marginal Adjustments Made to Rates Last Week

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Mortgage rates for the last week have remained relatively unchanged according to information released by Freddie Mac from its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey and Fannie Mae's report on average yields....(read more)

FTHB Tax Credit Update: Supportive Words from Geithner and Donovan

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

While we generally try to avoid getting caught up in political poo throwing, we know many are anxiously awaiting news from Capitol Hill regarding the extension of the first time home buyer tax credit. Although there has yet to be definitive progress. Here are a few words of support from ...

The Day Ahead: Q3 GDP, Jobless Claims, Tax Credit Extension, Treasury Auction

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

quities were slashed yesterday after the new home sales report posted an unexpected 3.6% decline for September. The S&P 500 fell 1.95%, the Nasdaq shed 2.67%, and the Dow moved further south from the 10k mark as it fell 1.21% to 9,762.69. This morning, ahead of the first look at Q3 ...

New Home Sales Fall For First Time in Six Months

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

This month single family new home sales fell for the first time since March. The annual pace of new homes sales was 402,000 sales per year, well below economist expectations for a pace of 440,000 annual new home sales. This is a 3.6% month over month decline. August new home ...

The Day Ahead: Durable Goods, New Home Sales, Auctions

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Shares in the S&P 500 have fallen for three consecutive days and on Wednesday futures are extending those losses ahead of fresh data and more Q3 earnings. About two hours before the open the S&P looks to open nearly 6 points down, after trimming 3.4 points yesterday. While investors wait ...

Mortgage Applications Decline. Refinance Demand Drops 16.2%. Purchases Down 5.2%

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

In last week's release, which reported data for the week ending October 16, mortgage application activity fell 13.7% as mortgage rates rose from 5.02% to 5.07%. The Refinance Index, adjusted for the Columbus Day holiday, decreased 16.8% from the previous week while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index moved lower as ...

Home Prices Higher in August. Will Housing Continue to Stabilize?

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

This month, the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index continued to improve as prices in 17 of 20 metro cities increased in August, albeit at a slower pace than July. Overall, the 20-city index rose 1.2%, better than economist expectations for a read of +0.7% and the 10-city home price ...