What We're Hearing

Do we have an international sovereign debt crisis or what? Bear with me. There are a few mortgage angles here. As I write this, the Dow Jones Industrial Averageis down 225 and all looks ugly. Greece is hemorrhaging with Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Ireland suspect as well. Investors will avoid buying the debt of these firms (in theory) unless they receive certain assurances from the European Union -- which means investors will continue to scarf up U.S. debt because (comparably speaking) it's "safe." The more U.S. bonds they buy, the lower interest rates will go, including mortgage rates. This should only spell good news for lenders. And if employment is really picking up -- we'll know for sure on Friday when the Department of Labor releases the new jobs number -- perhaps so will home buying. Of course, stock market losses suffered by U.S. investors might cause them to be gun shy when buying a new home. Or just maybe they'll figure that, finally, real estate is a better bet than stocks?...