Another wild week in the U.S. economy. Friday capped the week off with the DOW closing in the green up 259.18 pts (positive note), although the day started out negative with job losses that mirrored 1974 numbers, and more of the same old bleak news in regards to mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. ...

The FNMA 30-YR 5.5% lost traction today, giving up -.47bp to close at $101.56.  This translated into a increase of 1/8th in rates.  The stock market bounced back slightly to end in the green.  There is much talk and speculation the Fed will enter the Bond market and buy Fannie and Freddie bonds in...

Like everything else on Wall Street, mortgage markets are based on supply and demand.  When demand outweighs supply, mortgage rates fall. So, Tuesday, when the government unexpectedly announced a $600 billion budget for buying mortgage debt from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the demand side of the mortgage...

Fannie and Freddie announced today they will suspend Foreclosure sells until Jan 09 starting the day before Thanksgiving. No Foreclosures for the Holidays, business will resume 2009. This step coupled with the slowing of Housing Starts could lead to a tighter housing supply, thus stabilize declining...

For the 4th consecutive year, the government has set the conforming mortgage loan size limit at $417,000. A conforming mortgage is one that, quite literally, conforms to the mortgage guidelines set forth by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The 2009 conforming loan limits, as released by the government, are: 1-unit...

New Fannie and Freddie Teaser Rate Program (AKA the NEW Streamlined Loan Mod)   The new Streamlined Loan Modification introduced today, is more than meets the eye.  The program is essentially a New Teaser Rate Loan Program that could do more harm than good! To qualify for the new program a Borrower...

In the past few months I have written a lot about FHA loans and the benefits of this “in vogue” mortgage product. We have also talked about the tightening of the industry, especially in the Freddie/ Fannie Conventional world.   If I told you that there was a Conventional loan that had: NO down...

(Image courtesy: The New York Times) In an effort to limit risky borrower behavior, Fannie Mae announced a new round of mortgage guideline changes last week.  Unlike previous its previous 20-plus updates that raised income requirements and minimum credit scores (among other changes), Fannie’s...

The old adage of flight to safety was more than apparent in today’s market. The inverse relationship between stocks and mortgage backed bonds played true today. After a massive sell off in all major indexes, Mortgage Backed Bonds closed at a 6 month hi. With newfound liquidity in the mortgage bond...

Looks like the end is here. It is speculated that the Fed will backstop Fannie and Freddie this weekend. How will this affect Mortgages? Some believe the backstop will help add liquidity to the mortgage market and equate to slightly lower rates. With the extinction of Subprime lenders and the absence...