What We're Hearing

First the good news: residential mortgage rates are now at an all-time low: 4.7% with 0.7 points, according to new figures released by Freddie Mac. Now the bad news: Everyone from FHA to Fannieand Freddie are hiking their credit standards, which means that consumers are going to need really low rates (and more cash) to qualify. Let's put this in perspective: the government needs the housing market to revive to help stabilize the economy and increase tax revenue. Uncle Sam presently controls 90% of the market through Fan-Fred-FHA but all three are making it tougher to get a loan. But at the same time the Federal Reserve is keeping rates low -- intentionally. Got all that? See our news updates on these topics on the National Mortgage News website shortly: http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/. Meanwhile, don't forget the "big event" comes Friday when the Department of Labor releases the new unemployment numbers...