May’s Jobs Report came in much better than expected this morning with 2.51 million jobs ADDED vs the anticipated the 8.5 million jobs lost. Personally, this sounds too good to be true to me and I’m thinking that we’ll see corrections in the months to come…of course, I hope I’m wrong and that an economic (and health) recovery is here. [Read more…]
Lately I’ve felt like I’m sitting in the front row of a roller coaster with the wild swings in mortgage interest rates. Mortgage rates have been at 50 year lows this past week – the lowest levels since Freddie Mac started keeping track with their weekly mortgage survey. This is largely due to fears in the market caused by the coronavirus. The Dow has been taking wild plunges, then will rally only to dip again. Mortgage rates are based on bonds (mortgage backed securities) and when investors are pulling funds from stocks, they will often seek the safety of bonds. We’ve seen that this past week when rates dropped to the lowest levels I have seen in my 20 year career as a Mortgage Professional. We are in uncharted territory. [Read more…]
Freddie Mac’s PMMS report shows that mortgage interest rates have dropped this week largely due to the market volatility with the on again off again trade war with China.
You’ve probably heard that the Seattle’s sizzling real estate market has cooled a bit with home prices starting to come down. This is great news for folks who have grown weary battling in bidding wars only to have their offers rejected time after time. It looks like, at least right now, things may be returning to be more “normal”. [Read more…]
Mortgage rates are based on bonds (mortgage backed securities) and are traded fairly similar as stocks. Investors tend to favor stocks over bonds as stocks tend to provide a better return. However, investors will opt for bonds over stocks when they are seeking safety when markets are tumultuous. When the stock market is on a run, odds are mortgage rates may be moving higher as investors are selecting stocks over bonds. And when the stock market is tanking, mortgage rates tend to improve for the same reason. [Read more…]
This week is packed with economic indicators that may impact the direction of mortgage interest rates, which have been nudging higher. Mortgage rates are based on bonds (mortgage backed securities or “MBS”). When the stock market is doing well, it’s not unusual to see mortgage rates trend higher as investors will trade the safety of bonds for the potentially higher return found with stocks. The reverse tends to also hold true – if stocks are tumbling, mortgage rates often improve as investments are moved to bonds. Signs of inflation will also deteriorate bond pricing and cause mortgage rates to move higher. [Read more…]
If you live in King, Pierce, Snohomish or many other Washington state counties, you have some sticker shock when you see your 2018 property taxes. King County is reporting that the average home will see their taxes increase by 17%. The City of Sumner in Pierce County may see a whopping 22% jump to their property tax. [Read more…]
Today Freddie Mac released their Prime Mortgage Market Survey which basically shows an average of conforming rates for the previous week. The report shows mortgage rates at their highest for 2017 with the 30 year fixed rate at 4.21% priced with a half point. 
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