Understanding the Mortgage Market
Mortgage markets are like any other market, in order for goods to change hands, a buyer and a seller must first agree to “trade” at a specific price point.
In general, the more buyers and sellers there are for a particular item, the easier it is to find that “fair value” and make the […]

If You Didn’t Notice, Interest Rates Remain Inverted
This is a market condition in which the longer you commit to lending your money, the less that you earn on your investment.
So, “Why is that a big deal?” You Might Ask
Imagine if a friend asked you to borrow money for two years you charged him interest on […]

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to cut the Fed Funds Rate by at least three-quarters percent today.  The benchmark rate now rests in a range of 0.000-0.250 percent (yea, that hasn’t happened before).
In its press release, the FOMC identified three key economic sectors in which activity has weakened since October. The FOMC noted that:

The U.S. job market […]

The Federal Open Market Committee (that’s Bernanke’s crew) ends its 2-day meeting at 2:15 P.M. ET today.
It’s widely expected that the FOMC will reduce the Fed Funds Rate by a half-percent to 0.500 percent.
Fed Funds Rate cuts are meant to stimulate the economy by lowering borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. Interest rates on business […]

Let me save you some time and money.
The Fed does not control mortgage rates.  Not at all.  The Fed can do many things to influence the economy, but one of those things they control is NOT mortgage rates.  Influence, yes.  Control, no.
Let me explain.
What Does The Fed Control?
Now that I’ve established the Fed doesn’t control […]

The Announcement
Come 2:15pm ET on Tuesday (September 16th), we’ll have a decision on if the Fed Funds Rate (FFR) will stay the same or change. Remember, the FFR doesn’t impact mortgage rates directly, but it often influences traders opinions on the market.
What’s Likely to Happen?
I have to say, without the heads up from Alex […]

Did You Hear About It?
If you’ve been sleeping under a rock, you have heave missed the government stepping in to back Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the weekend.  BIG-BIG news.  As many speculators were saying the mortgage market was about to kick the bucket, the government stepped in.  Here’s the interesting part - once […]

It’s Going to be a Quiet News Week.
With only four reports coming out this week, mortgage backed securities (what mortgage rates are based on) could be heavily influenced by other technical factors. Last week, the direction of the stock market made things easy to predict. I’m not sure I’d follow that this week.
I’ll […]

It’s official, it’s Fed Day. Today (Wednesday, June 25th), the Fed will be making their statement this afternoon at 2:00ET. It’s a big deal for the mortgage market, but not for the reasons you might think it matters.
What Does The Fed Funds Rate Effect?

Credit Card Rates
Auto Loans (in some instances)
Home Equity Lines of […]

Roll of the dice.
That’s what I say. This week’s big news is the Fed announcement on Wednesday. There’s a lot of speculation on what the Fed’s move will be. Some say that with all of the cutting in the past few months that inflation will be a big issue. Others feel […]