Rates:
30 yr conforming 6.125
30 yr jumbo 6.625
7 yr ARM jumbo 5.75
OR VA 5.375
I apologize for another late Update but I just returned from a 2 week vacation in Italy with my son. A high school graduation and college send off gift for him (and me). Time sure flies by. Wasn't it just yesterday when he entered school? I'll talk a little more about the trip in future updates but we had a great time.
I am almost caught up on my emails and all of the analyst's reports that I receive. Looks like over the last two weeks the market's volatility remained intact. Interest rates benefitted from the drop in stock prices. The analyst's call these "safe haven' moves. When stocks prices are dropping, traders sell stocks and buy bonds with the proceeds thus helping to drop the rates. One report suggested that if the stock market recovers, interest rates would jump a 1/4 of a percent. Personally, I don't think another 1/4 or even a half of a percent increase in rates will hurt our market. From a historical perspective, rates would still be quite low. There are signs that the housing market is strengthening and that the bottom might have passed. There are some very good buys in real estate today and we are starting to see some savvy buyers and investors enter the market. We still have a ways to go though to work through the inventory levels and the foreclosures.
The Fed met last week and didn't change the rates - that's what the market anticipated. All are curious as to when they will start increasing the rates. There is a lot of opinion as to whether they should increase rates or not. Increasing rates will help strengthen the dollar and help to ease the price pressure on oil and commodities, yet it could hurt employment and our business, in particular. This topic can be a very confusing and complex issue. Since I don't have any input with Mr. Bernanke, we'll just wait to see what he and the Fed does.
I hope everyone has a great and safe 4th of July. I'll tell you this, you can gain a greater appreciation for our country (especially the Northwest) when you spend some time outside of it.
...THOUGHTS?
