And dont’ forget that ending this month is the 1st Time HomeBuyer Tax Credit program. Please, if you are a first time home buyer, don’t miss out on this. It is a dollar for dollar amount. You can read more about this in First Time HomeBuyer’s Tax Credit post.

     Also in the news last week was the all important Jobs Report. In March, we added 162,000 jobs with about 40,000 of them being Census Jobs. These Census Jobs are only for about 3-4 months. While it is good news that we are adding jobs, the Unemployment Rate stayed at 9.7% while the unemployment overall rose to 16.9%. Those numbers include the full time worker that has either accepted part time or has completely given up. On top of this, Average Hourly Wages is down by 0.1%.

    This week we start off with Monday: Pending Home Sales, Tuesday: FOMC Meeting Minutes, Thursday: Initial Jobless Claims.

    It should be a rather quiet week except for the $82 Billion in Treasuries to be auctioned. These will have longer maturies similar to Mortgage Backed Securities so this could cause volatility in the marketplace.

     You can read about this in more depth at MMG Weekly as well as on how to ”Boost Your Savings…Without Hardly Trying.”

     You can also check out the Daily Rate Lock Advisory each day. This report normally comes out around 10am.

     And as always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day. If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts.

To an  inspiring week,

Betsy Moore

206-331-2749

     Looking down the road on these mortgage backed-securities that the Fed has beenbuying and now holding, we may see them start selling back into the marketplace. Remember, they have purchased $1.25 trillion of these making their balance sheet on the heavy side. This could result in higher interest rates.

     This coming week is filled with economic reports. The biggies are Monday: Personal Consumption Expenditures and Core Personal Consumption Expenditures, Wednesday: Chicago PMI and, the all important, ADP National Employment Report, and Friday: ISM Index, Non-Farm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, Average Work Week, and Hourly Earnings.

     Last week’s Initial Jobless Claims showed the lowest numbers in months. But we can’t forget the ones who have totally dropped out of working or those who have had to take part time jobs to make ends meet. We can only hope that the Unemployment Rate is coming down as hopefully more companies start to hire.

     You can read about all of this as well as more about the $8000.00 First Time HomeBuyers Tax Credit that will end April 30, 2010 in this week’s MMG Weekly Review.

     You can also check out the Daily Rate Lock Advisory each day. This report normally comes out around 10am.

     And as always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day. If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts.

To an  inspiring week,

Betsy Moore

206-331-2749

      This tax credit ends on April 30th. What that means is the seller and buyer have to be in complete agreement on the terms to sell and purchase the home. This is done in the form of a signed around purchase and sale agreement.

      But to get to that point, the buyer needs to go through a couple of steps:

•  Pre-approved by a lender
•  Find a home

      Now those two steps may seem easy but, sometimes, unknowns can pop up.

      Unknowns could be a collection account on your credit report that needs to be cleared, a bit more time to get the funds to close, or a credit card that needs to be paid down to get a slightly better interest rate.

      And finding that perfect home for you and your family takes time. Even if you do find a home right away, the home may have problems which you may not want to deal with. Problem that only a professional home inspector can find such as unseen mold, a leaky roof, or faulty wiring.

     Or what if the appraisal doesn’t come in at the sale price? And the seller decided he doesn’t want to lower the price. You will have to decide to either walk away or come up with the difference out of pocket.

    And if you were signing the purchase and sales agreement on April 30th, you will not have time to find another home. Remember, the inspection and appraisal aren’t done until all signatures are on the paperwork. In other words, that you and seller are in agreement on the purchase price and terms. That doesn’t include doing the inspection and appraisal before then. Those are done on contigencies and after you both have signed.

      For a quick reference, click First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit for the guidelines.

     Don’t be one of the home buyers that miss out on this important tax credit. It is $8000 in your pocket. And if you have already filed your taxes, all you have to do is re-amend them.

     Be pro-active. Start today! Call your loan originator professional to get ahead of this deadline. April 30th is just around the corner.

      And as always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day. If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts.

To an  inspiring week,

Betsy Moore

206-331-2749

      The GDP reading was as exepcted but looking at the numbers especially consumer spending was which worse than 3rd Quarter 2009 when we had Cash for Clunkers.

     Also Existing Housing Sales were down again but most likely due to the freezing weather and one on top of another snowstorm.  Hopefully, we will see an improvement in this next month but don’t look for much of one since we have been dealing with bad weather in the East.

     This coming week will be one filled with economic reports. And we start the week right off with Personal Income and Spending as well as Core Personal Consumption Expenditure on Monday. Tuesday we have a quiet day then we go back at it on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And Friday ends with the Jobs Report numbers.

     The Jobs Report includes the unemployment rate as well as weekly hours work and hourly wages. With productivity at almost at the peak, it will be interesting to see what this brings.

      As always you can read about this in more detail as well as an interesting article on Tips to being a Successful Landlord in this week’s MMG Weekly.

      You can also check out the Daily Rate Lock Advisory each day. This report normally comes out around 10am.

     And as always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day. If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts.

To an  inspiring week,

Betsy Moore

206-331-2749

     The ADP Employment Report came in slightly higher than expected but, still, it was the least amount of job losses we’ve seen since July 2008. ADP numbers aren’t always reliable  but the market still moved with these numbers causing an alert to lock on Wednesday.

      On Thursday, Initial Jobless Claims came out slightly lower than expected at 457,000. A 400,000 figure means that we are seeing some stabilization in the market. So we still have a little ways to go still. Also beware that Jobless Claims means people who are collecting unemployment benefits. It doesn’t count the people whose benefits have expired. So this figure can be misleading.

      And today’s Jobs Report is what surprised the markets early this morning and had the economic reporters and traders dancing with glee on the stock exchange floor for a bit. Per the Labor Department, only 11,000 jobs were lost for the month of November. The market had expected around 125,000!!! A big difference. This along with revised numbers from the past two months lowered the overall Unemployment Rate to 10.0%. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement that he feels that the economy is slowly moving towards job creation.

           This is good news for our economy. The slowing of job loss, a slight gain in the hours worked per week, and an increase in temporary workers could mean we may be more firmly turning the corner on this recession. As a note, increase in temporary workers at temp companies normally happens prior to companies hiring staff full-time. It’s sort of a “let’s try to this on for size before buying.”

      While this is all good news, remember as the economy starts to pull itself out of the throes of this recession, mortgage interest rates will start to raise.

      If you haven’t refinance yet into a lower mortgage interest rate, don’t wait and miss this opportunity to lower your monthly payment. Even jumbo mortgage interest rates have been coming down. So please call so we can make sure you are in the lowest possible mortgage interest rate for your financial goals.

      And for those first time homebuyers, don’t wait! As the economy improves, so will housing values. And the combination of higher home values and higher mortgage interest rates could mean that you could potentially price yourself out of purchasing a home for you and your family.

      Please feel free to contact me with your questions or concerns. I am here to assist you in any way I can.

      As always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day. If any of the economic reports move the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts.

     Have an inspired week.

     Betsy Moore

     206-331-2749

      To top all of that off, on Thanksgiving Day, news started to leak out that Dubai World has asked for extensions on their debt repayment schedule on their $80-$90 Billion debt.

     So how is this all affecting the bond market? It’s holding.

     Existing Home Sales was up and housing inventories are down to 7 month supply, the lowest in 2 1/2 years. This is probably most likely due to the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit that was set to expired today. New Home Sales came in higher as well and their inventories are down to a 6.7 month supply, the lowest in 3 years. And Case-Shilling reported the fifth consecutive month of increased home values. Though these increases are small, the trend is slowly moving up.

      The other economic reports, GDP, Initial Jobless Claims, Core Personal Consumer Expenditures and Consumer Confidence came in at or as expected. The only economic report that was down was Durable Goods.

     The Treasury auctions of the 2-Year, 5-Year, and 7-Year for last Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, respectively, were well received.

     For this week, it will be another busy week. Chicago PMI comes out today and the Employments Report on Wednesday, both of these can move the market. Then on Friday, we have four employment type of reports, Average Work Week, Hourly Earnings, Non-Farm Payroll, and the Unemployment Rate.

     As each of these reports come out, I’ll report on them and how they have affected the market as well as the continuing story on the Dubai World and their debt repayment schedule. This one has the possibly to affect all of us since we live in a global world and 70 banks have a vested interest in how this will be repaid.

      Along with this, Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke will be talking to Senator Dobbs’ committee. Congress wants more control over the Federal Monetary Policy. I’ll weigh in on this and what it can mean to us in the future.

     In this week’s holiday MMG Week in Review, there is a great video on the Power of Attitude.

     You can also check out the Daily Rate Lock Advisory each day. This report normally comes out around 10am.

    And as always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day. If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts. I do hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and this coming week is one that is inspiring.

     Betsy Moore

     206-331-2749

      This coming week will be short but busy! We start the week off with Existing Home Sales and end on Wednesday with New Home Sales. This will show whether homebuyers are jumping in to receive the HomeBuyers Tax Credit. Don’t know if you are a First Time Homebuyer or a Move-up Buyer? Check out my Home Buyer Tax Credit fact sheet.

      Also this week, the Treasury will  be holding auctions each day, $44B 2-Year Notes on Monday, $42B in 5-Year Notes on Tuesday and $32B in 7-Year Notes. Can the market digest this enormous amount of supply? We will report on this on twitter @mmtgsolutions .

     Besides going deeper into the Initial Jobless Claims, this week’s MMG Week in Review has a great article on Thanksgiving.

     You can also check out the Daily Rate Lock Advisory each day. This report normally comes out around 10am.

    And as always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day.If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts. Have an inspired week and a great Thanksgiving weekend.

     Betsy Moore

     206-331-2749

     This week is a fairly quiet week. A time to breathe. We do have the Treasury Auctions and this time it will be a larger amount than normal. If these auctions move the bond market, I’ll write about it here.

     Also in this week’s MMG Week in Review is more information on the First Time Homebuyer and Move-up Homebuyer Tax Credits plus how this week’s economic reports will affect the market.

    And as always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day.If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts. Have an inspired week.

     Betsy Moore

     206-331-2749

      Here are the top changes:

1. First Time Homebuyers have until April 30, 2010 to be in a signed purchased and sale agreement and close by June 30, 2010.
2. Income for single buyers goes from $75,000 to $125,000 and for married buyers from $125,000 to $250,000.
3. Homeowners who have lived in their home for 5+ years can now take advantage and move up.
4. Homeowners will have to be in contract also by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.
5. Homeowners will receive $6,500 in tax credit for moving up.
6. There is a $800,000 home purchase cap for move up buyers.

      Remember, first time home buyers are people who have not owned a home for the last 3 years. And move up homeowners have to have lived in their homes for the last five plus years.

     Great news for the housing industry as it slowly pulls out of this recession.

      If you are a first time home buyer, the time is now. And for move-up buyers, what a great time to purchase that bigger home for your family. Home values are starting to bottom out in most parts of the country and housing inventories are starting to come down. Added to that, mortgage interest rates are still at historically low rates.

    I am here to assist you in any way I can. Please do not hesitate to contact me.

    As always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day.If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts. Have an inspired week.

     Betsy Moore

     206-331-2749

      The extension of this $8000.00 Tax Credit will have the following provisions:

• First Time Home Buyers must be in contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.
• Qualifying income will be increased from $75,000 to $125,000 for singles and $125,000 to $250,000 for married couples.
• For homeowners living in their home for 5 years or more who want to move-up, the same income and contract/close dates applies.
• For move-up homeowners, their tax credit will be $6,500.

    If you are a first time home buyer, the time is now. And for move-up buyers, what a great time to purchase that bigger home for your family. Home values are starting to bottom out in most parts of the country and housing inventories starting to come down. Added to that, mortgage interest rates are still at historically low rates.

    I am here to assist you in any way I can. Please do not hesitate to contact me.

    As always, I will report daily on twitter @mmtgsolutions on the mortgage interest rates and what to expect for the day.If one of these reports moves the market in a significant manner, I’ll write about it here.

     Please remember, I welcome your comments to this and my other posts. Have an inspired week.

     Betsy Moore

     206-331-2749