Week ending November 20, 2009:
Bernanke Addresses Falling Dollar
Fed Chief Bernanke did a speech on Monday regarding the economic outlook which revealed no change in the Fed’s stance on short-term monetary policy. The monthly inflation readings continued to show that inflation is not a cause for concern in the short-term. As a result, mortgage rates stayed the same during the week, still remaining at historically low levels (for now).
The decline in the value of the dollar has received a great deal of attention lately. While Fed officials rarely discuss the value of the dollar, Bernanke assured investors that the Fed is closely watching exchange rates. However, the Fed’s dual mandate is to promote full employment and to keep prices stable. According to Bernanke, the value of the dollar is just one of many factors affecting inflation, and the Fed is not concerned by the movement in the dollar so far. With a fragile economy and high unemployment rate, the Fed intends to keep the fed funds rate at low-level. Anymore tightening of our monetary policy to strengthen the dollar would hurt the economic recovery and slow job creation since interest rates will rise.
Call me directly at (949) 459-6888 or send an email to mailto:CreditNDebtWise@gmail.com.
Gail P. Rogers
Your Mortgage, Credit and Debt Resolution Expert
Week ending November 6, 2009:
No Change From the Fed
Thank goodness the week ended mostly unchanged with mortgage rates from the week before since the Fed made no change in the fed funds rate at it’s meeting. The Fed did report that our economic activity has continued to increase and that the housing market shows improvement.
Because the Fed is being silent with future rate hikes, don’t delay planning for a new home or refinancing to a lower fixed rate. Rates will rise soon as the economic activity continues to pick up even more and the housing number continues to increase. The demand for home buying will pick up considerably since Obama just extended the $8,000 first-time buyer credit and opened it up to previous homeowners as well.
The economy continued to lose jobs last month and the Unemployment Rate shot up to 10.2% nationally, which was the highest level since April 1983. This is frustrating to me because so…many of my clients and associates are experiencing this pain. If you’re one of the unemployed or under-employed Americans trying to tread water during your own economic recovery with credit issues or a need for debt management, call me to discuss your options or email me at mailto:creditndebtwise@gmail.com
As always, I’ll be glad to help “You” get your financial life back on track.
Call me directly at (949) 459-6888 or send an email to mailto:CreditNDebtWise@gmail.com.
Gail P. Rogers
Your Mortgage, Credit and Debt Resolution Expert
Week ending October 23, 2009:
Existing Home Sales Surge
The September Existing Home Sales jumped 9% from August. This surge is the highest level since July 2007. In addition to this surge of home buying, inventories of unsold existing homes dropped sharply to a 7 month supply from a 9 month supply in August. Now, this is great news for my business but for those first-time home buyers still waiting for the real estate market to hit bottom, stop and take action now. We’ve seen the bottom and interest rates are starting to climb again. This indicator of unsold existing home inventory marks the lowest level in 2.5 years.
Much of the activity I’ve seen has been spurred by exceptionally low mortgage rates and the first-time homebuyer tax credit, and the future is uncertain with both. The Fed is pushing mortgage rates gradually higher as they scale back the purchases of mortgage-backed securities (government purchased loans) and Congress is still debating whether to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit.
I just read a report that was released this week from my industry’s top organization, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) that they project existing home sales to rise by 11% in 2010.
Do you know what will happen when home sales rise? Yes, home prices rise. It is the simple law of “supply verse demand”.
Let’s review your current credit and debt situation to see if you can purchase a home during the biggest housing correction in years. Do it before you miss the opportunity to buy while prices and interest rates remain low.
Call me directly at (949) 459-6888 or send an email to mailto:CreditNDebtWise@gmail.com.
Gail P. Rogers
Your Mortgage, Credit and Debt Resolution Expert
Week Ending October 16, 2009:
Dow Crosses Above 10,000
Stronger than expected economic data, solid earnings reports, and upward revisions to the Fed’s growth forecast propelled the Dow stock index above the 10,000 level for the first time since October 2008. However, these same factors were unfavorable for mortgage rates, and they ended the week modestly higher.
I highly recommend you don’t wait to buy a home or refinance since the rates will not stay low since the Fed announced the end of their purchase program to buy mortgage backed securities (MBS) by the first quarter of 2010. This will heavily influence mortgage rates to swing up.
Weekly Jobless Claims fell to the lowest level since early January, indicating some improvement in the labor market. As more Americans go back to work, the Fed is most likely to raise interest rates.
Call me directly at (949) 459-6888 or send an email to mailto:CreditNDebtWise@gmail.com.
Gail P. Rogers
Your Mortgage, Credit and Debt Resolution Expert
Week Ending October 3, 2009:
Weaker than expected labor and manufacturing data and comments from the Fed about inflation helped mortgage rates stay low this week. Investors shifted funds out of the stock market and into bond markets, and mortgage rates ended the week at the lowest levels since May of 2009.
The Employment report for the month was a little weaker than expected. The Fed officials have a decision to make regarding the fed funds rate while unemployment remains high. When the Fed eventually does indicate that rate hikes are imminent, the immediate reaction for mortgage rates is likely to be a move much higher.
Don’t delay if you need a lower interest rate on your home loan! If you wait too long, you’ll miss out….
Call me directly at (949) 459-6888 or send an email to mailto:CreditNDebtWise@gmail.com.
Gail P. Rogers
Your Mortgage, Credit and Debt Resolution Expert
