Mortgage News

Despite the challenging economic times, I have something this week to report that I am a little bit optimistic about relating to housing but let’s get though the other stuff first!

Let’s see what happens this week with interest rates and the stock market. After interest rates hit new lows, rates will most likely react in opposite direction of the stock market this week. This past week the stock market has been dropping consistently for the last 5 weeks, with last week being exceptionally rough.  The DOW at the start of May was 12,807.  By the end of May it had dropped to 12,292 (A 515 point drop) and as of the end of this week, will be down another estimated 300 points. (Ouch!)

The word “mayhem” has several synonyms including “chaos” and “confusion.”  For my first column, I couldn’t think of a better topic to begin with than addressing the mayhem that seems to exist in regard to all things mortgage related.  Mortgage loans have always been a bit confusing, but as we’re all aware by now, the entire mortgage industry has been in a period of utter chaos for several years.  To that end, in this column each month I will try to help make sense of the nonsense for anyone who owns a home, who wants to own a home, or who has plans to own a home in the future. I will address the issues that are important to you.

So, without further delay, let’s try to clear up one of the most prevalent confusing issues when it comes to your real estate financing.  Bar none, the question I hear most from friends, family and clients is this:  What is the current state of the mortgage and real estate market?