What We're Hearing

If you're searching for a clear sign that mortgage rates will indeed stay low the rest of the year look across the ocean to Greece and maybe Portugal. Greece's debt has been downgraded to "junk" status and Portugal is getting wobbly. In these troubled times, institutional investors want security and that means they'll keep gobbling up U.S. Treasuries -- and if that happens rates will remain low. (Of course, the U.S. has its own debt problems but compared to Greece, we look good. I guess.) Meanwhile, I keep hearing anecdotal stories that residential loan volumes were decent in March and most of April, but some firms expect declining applications throughout the rest of the year. Despite a decline in production, profit margins remain strong. In an effort to lower costs, some firms are letting their "temp workers" go as opposed to cutting "permanent" staff...