Refi Wave on the Way?
While mortgage rates haven’t kept pace with the plummeting Fed Funds Rate, the 30-Year Fixed rate has come down almost 75 basis points in recent weeks to a national average of around 5.7% yesterday. The recent trend got a boost last week from comments by Ben Bernanke that the Fed, which doesn’t have much fire…
While mortgage rates haven’t kept pace with the plummeting Fed Funds Rate, the 30-Year Fixed rate has come down almost 75 basis points in recent weeks to a national average of around 5.7% yesterday. The recent trend got a boost last week from comments by Ben Bernanke that the Fed, which doesn’t have much fire power left with its signature rate (how much lower than 1% can you go) may start trying to impact the long end of the curve by purchasing U.S. Treasurys. According to Bloomberg, refinancing can already make sense for home owners with existing mortgages of 5.5% or higher. Presumably a wave of refinancings would help both the real estate market and the overall economy, generating fees for banks a lowering carrying costs for owners. Have any readers been looking into refinancing? Excuse us while we go have a look at the fine print on our mortgage now.
Long Bond Returns Most Since 1995 [Bloomberg]
30-year Fixed Mortgage Rates Down Tuesday [Bankrate]
Graph from Seeking Alpha
BH76 – a little reality check: you haven’t had a 25% drop because you haven’t sold your place.
$900sK is no more realistic than $1.2MM.
Everyone on this board seems to be in a What-fueled panic today, and yet many of the price chops, etc. we’ve seen are simply sellers backing off unrealistic prices. It’s all fictional! The only thing that matters is the actual sales data.
And yes, those are sure to show a decline – but 25%? Perhaps, but most likely only on a place that had extremely weak fundamentals [location, construction, size, etc].
BH78, how big is your place an dhas it been on the market all this time?
I’m really hoping to trade up sometime in the next few years. I’m okay with selling for less as long as I’m buying the classic seven of my dreams for less too.
We know prices are falling. After being told for the past two years that our coop woudl sell at no less than $1.2MM, we are now told that it is in the $900sK. That’s 25% drop.
Money will be cheaper in the future so long as you refi into something that Freddy and Fannie will buy, i.e., conforming or jumbo conforming….
If you fall outside their LTV or you need more than $729,750 then pray a lot…. It’s going to take a while for the rest of the market to open up. There is no secondary market for mortgage backed securities except for the govt sponsored ones.. If these guys can’t sell the mortgage, they have to hold it on their balance sheets which aint happening.
I am looking to refi now as well (currently at 6.25 on a 30 year). I am certainly no expert at this stuff, but is it possible that some kind of gov. bailout program will make money super cheap in the future? I heard someone say this this morning on MSNBC or one of those shows – said to wait to refinance because money will be available (through TARP or a similar program) at around 4% in near future…
*is someone going to correct his use of “appriser” at some point, or should we just let him continue to use it? It’s kind of entertaining*
DIBS- send me an email. I’m not stepping into this arguement.
BTW- You don’t pay MTG tax on the “old money” if you do a CEMA. Consolidation Extension Modification Agreement. See y post from yesterday.
“Do you even understand the difference between treasuries and other forms of “US Debt stupid” Treasuries have in fact, risen in price over the past two years.”
That’s right Asshat! The money is going in Treasuries and out of everything else! But that’s OK you are drinking the Kool-Aid and the cyanide will kick-in very shortly…
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
It took 90 minutes for Daily News to ‘steal’ the Empire State Building
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/12/02/2008-12-02_it_took_90_minutes_for_daily_news_to_ste.html
In one of the biggest heists in American history, the Daily News “stole” the $2 billion Empire State Building.
And it wasn’t that hard.
The News swiped the 102-story Art Deco skyscraper by drawing up a batch of bogus documents, making a fake notary stamp and filing paperwork with the city to transfer the deed to the property.
Some of the information was laughable: Original “King Kong” star Fay Wray is listed as a witness and the notary shared a name with bank robber Willie Sutton.
The massive ripoff illustrates a gaping loophole in the city’s system for recording deeds, mortgages and other transactions.
The loophole: The system – run by the office of the city register – doesn’t require clerks to verify the information.
This ties into idiots like this
“I’ve done my research and I am not worried about comps. Unless the appraiser starts using Phoenix or Las Vegas comps instead of the strong comps around the corner from me, I do not expect a problem.”
Are you an appriser? I guess not and Property Shark is not the best place to look for comps! I know you will argue this point so go on and good luck with that…
The What
Someday this war is gonna end..