What We're Hearing

As I noted in the daily column yesterday there seems to be a glimmer of hope for the loan brokerage industry. Several brokers concurred in emails to me, noting that a chief reason for their survival is the hands-on customer service they offer the applicant. One responded by writing: "You wonder why mortgage brokers still have a place in the landscape? Have you ever tried dealing directly with a bank's retail division to get a mortgage? As a mortgage broker, in order to avoid any conflict of interest, I applied to a Wells Fargo retail branch in order to refinance my existing Wells Fargo mortgage. The experience was awful. The refinance has not been completed and I am actually going to give up." So there you have it -- if big banks think they are going to control the residential business going forward they may be sadly mistaken. Meanwhile, plenty of hand wringing is going on concerning the rising yield on the 10-year. At press time the note rate was 3.83% -- almost double its 52-week low. Market participants are worried that an oversupply of government debt could push interest rates yet higher, increasing the cost to own a home. Will desperate house sellers cut their asking prices even more just so they can escape? Stay tuned…