Sep 7, 2012 | The Economy
Beginning as soon as next week, new, mandatory mortgage fees will push mortgage rates higher throughout Worcester County area and nationwide. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are raising their respective “guarantee fees”.
Guarantee fees are fees that mortgage-backed securities providers charge to lenders for mortgage-related services including the bundling, selling and reporting of mortgage-backed bonds.
Guarantee fees are also used to insure providers against credit-related losses.
As announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, effective for all conforming loans delivered to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, beginning November 1, 2012, guarantee fees will be raised by an average of 10 basis points per loan.
Conforming mortgages already average close to 30 basis points in guarantee fee per loan. (more…)
Jul 13, 2012 | The Economy
When the calendar flips to a new year, analysts and economists like to make predictions for the year ahead.
So, today, with the year half-complete, it’s an opportune time to check back to see how the experts’ predictions are faring (so far).
If you’ll remember, when 2011 closed, the housing market was showing its first signs of a reboot. Home sales were strong, home supplies were nearing bull market levels, and buyer activity was strong.
Homebuilder confidence was at its highest point in 2 years and single-family housing starts had made its biggest one-month gain since 2009.
In addition, 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates had just broke below the 4 percent barrier and looked poised to stay there. (more…)
Jul 5, 2012 | The Economy
Friday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its Non-Farm Payrolls report. More commonly called “the jobs report”, Non-Farm Payrolls is a monthly market-mover.
Depending on the strength — or weakness — of the data, mortgage rates will change. Perhaps sharply. Unfortunately, we can’t know in which direction.
If you’re actively shopping for a mortgage in Worcester County area , therefore, today may be a prudent day to lock a mortgage.
The job report’s connection to mortgage rates is straight-forward. As the number of U.S. citizens earning paychecks increases, reverberations are felt through the economy.
First, higher levels of income are tied to higher levels of consumer spending and consumer spending accounts for the majority of the U.S. economy. More working citizens, therefore, builds a larger overall economic base.
Next, as the overall economic base grows, businesses produce and sell more goods, necessitating the hiring of additional personnel and the purchase of more raw materials — both positives for the economy.
And, lastly, as more paychecks are written, more taxes are paid to local, state and federal governments. These taxes are often used to fund projects and purchase goods and services which, in turn, grow the economy as well.
Tying it all together, the health of the U.S. economy is a major factor is setting day-to-day mortgage rates across Worcester County area. This is why rate shoppers face risk with tomorrow’s Non-Farm Payrolls report.
Between 2008 and 2009, the economy shed 7 million jobs. It has since recovered 3.9 million of them and, Friday, analysts expect to see another 100,000 jobs created in June. If the actual number of jobs created exceeds this estimate, look for mortgage rates to rise.
If the actual number of jobs created falls short of 100,000, mortgage rates may fall.
The government releases Non-Farm Payrolls data at 8:30 AM ET Friday.
Jun 5, 2012 | The Economy
For the second straight year, the jobs market looks to be slowing into the summer.
Last Friday, in its monthly Non-Farm Payrolls report for May 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 69,000 net new jobs created, plus a one-tick rise in the national Unemployment Rate to 8.2%.
2012 is shaping up like 2011, it appears.
Last year, between May and August, the jobs market was decidedly worse as compared to the rest of the year, adding just 80,000 jobs on average per month as compared to 190,000 new jobs created on average during each of the other 8 months.
This year, a similar slowdown may be in store.
Although the May jobs report marks the 20th consecutive month during which the U.S. economy added new jobs, the reported figure fell well short of analyst (more…)
May 3, 2012 | The Economy
Been shopping for a mortgage rate? You may want to lock something down. Tomorrow morning, mortgage rates are expected to change. Unfortunately, we don’t know in which direction they’ll move.
It’s a risky time for Worcester County area home buyers to be without a locked mortgage rate.
The action begins at 8:30 A.M. ET Friday. This is when the government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its April Non-Farm Payrolls report.
The monthly Non-Farm Payrolls report is more commonly known as “the jobs report” and provides a sector-by-sector breakdown of the U.S. employment situation, including changes in the Unemployment Rate.
In March 2012, the government reported 120,000 net new jobs created — half the number created during the month prior, and the third straight month of declining job creation. The Unemployment Rate fell one-tenth of one percent to 8.2%. (more…)
Apr 10, 2012 | The Economy
Americans continue to get back to work.
Last Friday, in its Non-Farm Payrolls report for the month of March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced 120,000 net new jobs created, plus combined revisions in the January and February reports of +4,000 jobs.
The March report marks the 18th straight month of job growth nationwide — the first time that’s happened in 5 years.
The Unemployment Rate dipped in March, too, falling one-tenth of one percent to 8.2%. This is its lowest national Unemployment Rate since February 2009.
Clearly, the jobs market is moving in the right direction. Yet, after the Non-Farm Payrolls report was released Friday morning, stock markets dropped and bond markets gained — the opposite of what a casual market observer would expect.
It happened because, although job growth was strong, Wall Street decided it just wasn’t strong enough. The market expected 200,000 jobs created in March at least and the actual reported figure fell short. (more…)
