Mortgage Rates

Ben Bernanke pulled out all the stops and lowered the federal funds rate to the lowest rate in history signifying a target range of zero to .25 percent. The New York stock exchange reacted favorably to the annoucement.
Federal Funds Rate Cut
The Federal Funds Rate is the rate banks use when lending to each other. [...]

Consumers expect 30 year mortgage rates to drop when they hear in the media the Fed cut interest rates. However, the rate the Fed cuts is the Fed Funds Rate which has nothing directly to do with mortgage rates.
30 Year Mortgage Rates vs. Fed Funds Rate
The media reports a rate cut and all [...]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke orchestrated a gaggle of European central banks today to cut interest rates by a half percent which is designed to quell the sell-off that has gripped the world’s stock markets in the last two days. European stock markets rebounded on the report and the US futures market about-faced as well. [...]

The ballooning TED spread is a clear indication of the risk in lending to commercial banks and who could refute that sentiment with all the subprime mortgage exposure they carry. Why is the TED spread at it’s highest level in years?
To answer that, we’ll need a quick graph and an explanation to go with [...]

The huge decline in the stock market today could produce an unanticipated drop in mortgage rates and kick off a bout of home buying and refinancing. Stock market traders today overwhelming believe a Fed rate cut is coming as well.
Stock Market Beating Today Lead To Lower Rates
The Lehman Bros bankruptcy annoucement today combined with [...]

The government bailout of Fannie and Freddie this week sent mortgage rates dumpling which triggered an increase in mortgage applications according to the Mortgage Bankers Association report.
Mortgage Rates Drop -Mortgage Applications Rise
As expected, the recent drop in mortgage rates has spurred an increase in mortgage applications. The Market Composite Index, created by the MBA [...]

Current mortgage rates are dropping and may continue to do so since the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Current mortgage rates had been rising as credit spreads due to lack of confidence in solvency of the GSEs creaped into the market.
Current Mortgage Rates Improving
In an interview today on Fox news, Warren [...]

Freddie Mac release mortgage rate survey results showing average 30 year fixed mortgage rates for the week ending July 31, 2008 down from to the previous week 0.11% from 6.63% to 6.52%.
Freddie Mac Chief Economist, Frank Nothaft, said,
“Mortgage rates moved lower this week as a drop in commodity prices eased market concerns over [...]

In my real mortgage rates podcast, I give you the 30 year mortgage rate every day. But how do you know that my 30 year mortgage rate is the par rate since we always say you cannot trust rate quotes?
Well, I get my rate information from an independent wholesale lender. If [...]

The Fed makes a rate cut and current mortgage interest rates rise. The current mortgage interest rate on 30 year fixed loan routinely inches up compared to rates before the cut.
Consumers are expecting the opposite to happen and yet it rarely does. This opposite market reaction is pretty consistently over [...]

The Fed rate cut this week came from and emergency meeting when the Dow futures were down almost 500 points. The rate cut came just in the nick of time stemming a stock market crash…or so we’re told.
“Rob, did you say “stock market crash”?
Yes…at least that was how it was reported in the [...]

What is APR?, is commonly asked question and a confusing concept for the average consumer since most erroneously believe they can use APR to compare mortgage offers.
The confusion is compounded when it is widely reported the government passed The Truth In Lending Act in 1974 which mandated a disclosure of APR on [...]

What documents should you sign to execute a mortgage rate lock? Always get a rate lock agreement from your broker or banker at the time of lock. Of course, like anything in the real estate or mortgage world, if it’s not in writing it doesn’t exist.
With that in mind, realize that [...]

All the online rate advertising websites claim to have the best mortgage rates. It is easy to claim you have the best mortgage rates when you have no oversight.
There is more than one lawsuit claiming the rates Bankrate.com, for example, post are manipulated by the companies that advertise on their site. A [...]