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What Makes Mortgage Rates Go Down?

December 13, 2010 By
Mortgage Rates Go Down

When a person takes out a loan from the bank to purchase a home, that loan is called a mortgage. Each month, the borrower will make a payment to the bank to repay the mortgage, a process called amortization. Each monthly mortgage payment that the borrower makes consists of two parts. The first part of the payment is the amount of principle owed to the bank to repay the outstanding loan. The second part of the payment consists of the interest that the bank charges to loan the money to finance the … [Read more...]

What is a Mortgage Rate Lock?

December 6, 2010 By
Lock Your Mortgage Rates!

A mortgage rate lock-in or mortgage rate-lock is designed to protect borrowers from interest rate increases during a mortgage loan application process. It basically is a promise by the lender to make a mortgage loan available to a borrower for a specific interest rate and with a specific number of points, regardless of whether interest rates go up or not while the loan is being processed. With a mortgage rate lock, a lender basically guarantees to hold a particular interest rate for a borrower … [Read more...]

What Makes Mortgage Rates Go Down?

December 3, 2010 By
Mortgage Rates go down!

When a person takes out a loan from the bank to purchase a home, that loan is called a mortgage. Each month, the borrower will make a payment to the bank to repay the mortgage, a process called amortization. Each monthly mortgage payment that the borrower makes consists of two parts. The first part of the payment is the amount of principle owed to the bank to repay the outstanding loan. The second part of the payment consists of the interest that the bank charges to loan the money to finance the … [Read more...]

How to Predict Mortgage Rate Trends

December 1, 2010 By
Predicting Mortgage Rates Trend

If you are considering buying a new home within the next few years, but are watching mortgage rates to see when the best deal is available, knowing how to predict mortgage rate trends is a good idea. Mortgage rates are not definitively tied to an index, the stock market's performance or other investments. Some mortgages are tied to these commodities but for the most part they are based more on the performance of the real estate market. Mortgage rates are sometimes effected by the current rate … [Read more...]

What Makes Mortgage Rates Go Up

November 20, 2010 By
Mortgage Rates Go Up

With mortgage rates and home prices at record levels, consumers are trying to sort through the many different issues that influence current mortgage rates. While mortgage companies determine the rates they charge based on current market conditions, mortgage rates go up because of a number of factors, including the prospective home buyer. There is also the impact of inflation, poor economic climate, the Consumer Price Index, consumer confidence and government influences. For example, if … [Read more...]

Historical Mortgage Rates

August 23, 2010 By
Historic Mortgage Rates

Whether you are a current homeowner or thinking about buying a new home, your mind is definitely on mortgage rates. More specifically, what have mortgage rates and payments been historically? To answer the burning question: Is this the right time to buy or refinance a home? That's why we sent out our Morning Mortgage Notes researchers to find and compile this data so you can make a more informed mortgage decision. We're going to tackle this question in two ways: What has the … [Read more...]

“Cash-in” Refinancing, Hot Trend in Mortgage Loans

August 19, 2010 By
"Cash-in" Refinance, A Smart Investment Move

Could your best investment right now be in your home? Considering the crash in home values over the last couple of years, the suggestion seems absurd. However, with the best bank rates on savings and CDs paying under 1 percent and the stock market’s instability, your mortgage may be your best investment. With mortgage rates consistently reporting record new lows each week, homeowners are trying to figure out how to lock in these long-term savings. Many are faced with homes that are … [Read more...]

Are We in an Economy Where Low Mortgage Rates Don't Matter?

March 27, 2009 By 1 Comment

Image via Wikipedia 24/7 Wall Street presents and interesting angle on the role of mortgage rates in recovering the housing market. Are we in an economy where factors and anxiety around unemployment and investment make it such that mortgage rates are too much at any cost? While some data shows that housing may be finding a bottom, it is likely that very few people are willing to gamble their own money that the perception is true. If unemployment rises, housing prices could continue to fall. If … [Read more...]

Mortgage Rates Up, Mortgage Applications Down?

December 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment
unemployed

Welcome to the unique conundrum of an economic mess we are in. Seems as though you solve one problem and you create more. Goes to my "too many artifical inputs, queers the economy" theory--okay so Adam Smith mentioned it first. Anyway, it looks like rising unemployment and tightening bank credit standards is working hard against the US Treasury plan to push mortgage rates to 4.5 percent, and maybe even 4 percent mortgage rates. MBA says mortgage applications drop 7 percent (17 percent for home … [Read more...]

AMEX Bank, ABA No New Regs, Big Bank Loan Modifications, Economist Turn Negative, 10 Benefits of Recession

November 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment
silver lining

American Express Becomes a Bank American Express becomes a bank, getting unprecedented speedy approval to become a Federally chartered bank. This is likely a smart preemptive move by American Express to hedge mounting credit card troubles by gaining access to TARP bailout funds. The cautionary part of this tale--how bad might those mounting losses be for the Federal Reserve to waive even the cursory 30-day waiting period? Bad! American Express Co. won U.S. Federal Reserve approval to become a … [Read more...]