USA, USA, USA. OK, enough of that. Although the U.S. soccer team lost to Brazil the other night we can thank the interest rate gods that investors, world wide, keep buying our Treasury bonds, driving prices up and bond yield downs. In the past I’ve joked about a 30-year fixed-rate loan at 2% and I’m starting to believe that it could happen. In short, we’re in unchartered financial territory now. But will a 2% FRM entice home buyers to get off the fence and buy a house now? I can almost hear the conversation between couples now: “Honey, I know I have a job now, but what if…” In other words, consumers—as well as mortgage lenders—fear the great economic unknown and Friday’s stock market carnage did nothing to ease the clouds that are forming. Yes, Europe is to blame. With the exception of Germany, France and a few other nations, the economic news there isn’t good. It’s not that the hole is so deep (it is), but few investors feel that the moves taken thus far will solve the problem…
Which leads to this: the social safety net that many European countries enjoy is the reason for their woes. Having government paid health care, early retirement, and lengthy unemployment benefits may look nice on paper but in the end it boils down to this: How can we afford this?…
Say what you want about the “socialist state” that’s been created under President Obama, it’s nothing compared to what most European nations have…
As for the election, several Republicans I know were feeling pretty lousy about Mitt Romney’s chances come Nov. 6, but after Friday’s ugly jobs report, they grew hair on their chest. There’s little doubt that a majority of loan officers and brokers will vote for Romney and it’s not because of social “wedge” issues. It boils down to too much regulation, and loan officer compensation proposals that just about everyone hates, even commercial bankers. Why does the White House and CFPB not get it?…
In case you missed the scoop on the National Mortgage News webpage, GNMA is making inroads on clearing its backlog of applications. Most new applicants are nonbanks, not depositories, agency chief Ted Tozer told us…
And if you’re looking for a patch of brightness in the national job numbers that came out Friday morning look at the mortgage brokerage employment line: broker firms added 2,300 loan officers and other staffers to their payrolls in April…
On Friday, a day when the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to a record low 1.44%, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned investors that opinions could turn quickly and rates may rise. My reaction: Why does Andrea Mitchell let her husband out of the house?...
WASHINGTON NEWS: HARP 2.0, the expanded GSE refinancing program unveiled late last year, kicked into full speed during the first quarter with volumes doubling to 180,000 units compared to the prior period. The program is geared to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgagors with LTVs north of 80% who are having difficulty refinancing because of a lack of home equity. (Reporting by Brian Collins.)
MORTGAGE DATA STUFF: The nation’s top five servicers still control 55% of the $9.1 trillion mortgage market but that grip is starting to loosen. If you need complete market share numbers on the top 100 or channel breakdowns, top wholesalers, correspondents and more order the Quarterly Data Report and/or MortgageStats.com. Discounts are available to National Mortgage News advertisers. For more info, email
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LAST WORD: The first Muolo grandchild is about to graduate high school. Congrats Sherry!
