Eugene Real Estate Blog | Lane County Oregon Blogs 
Eugene Oregon Mortgages - Weekly Rates Update
Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 11:24pm. 526 Views, 2 Comments.
Okay, first things first. If you possess any math skills at all you probably noticed in last Friday's report that I committed a faux pas in regards to the first time home buyer purchasing a $750,000 home to receive the $7500 tax credit. Obviously my math skills were called into question, but I ask your forgiveness for this, my only mistake in 2008 thus far. 
Mortgage rates were down this morning with the ugly employment report from the Labor Dept, but as the day went on the stock markets rallied and pushed mortgage rates back up. However, as you can see below, rates are better than they have been in the last 2 ½ months.
A quick update on the “seller funded down payment assistance programs” (Ameridream, Nehemiah, etc.); the few lenders who…
Weekly Eugene Oregon Real Estate Mortgage Rates Update
Saturday, August 30th, 2008 at 1:04am. 623 Views, 6 Comments.
The GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the widest measure of our national economy has seen a revision this morning that indicates that the economy is growing faster than previously thought. However, the growth is directly tied to the stimulus package checks that hit consumers during the 2 nd quarter. So, it remains to be seen what the economy will do over this quarter and next. You know what they say about statistics.
I want to take a moment to clarify the information regarding the $7,500 tax credit for first time homebuyers that I spoke of in the last edition of my weekend report. First let me tell you that this was a bill passed in Congress, and signed into law in July, called the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Let me put this in bullet…
Mortgage Rates Holding Steady For Oregon Home Buyers
Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 10:00pm. 600 Views, 6 Comments.
As you can see below, rates haven't changed much in the last week. There have been a few reports out that were favorable to the bond market, and would have pushed rates lower, but the reports that have indicated that the threat of inflation still weighs heavy on the minds of investors, has prevented that from happening. Mortgage rates are still great though.
You may have seen information on the new $7,500 tax credit available to first time homebuyers. Essentially it is a tax credit worth 10% of the home's sale price up to $7,500. It can be taken on homes purchased between 4/9/08 and 7/1/09. It is designed to get first time homebuyers energized. But understand that this is a tax credit, not upfront money. So, it remains to be seen whether or not…
Weekly Oregon Mortgage Rates Update - Florence Oregon Real Estate Broker
Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 8:26pm. 681 Views, 5 Comments.
July's employment report was released this morning. It showed that unemployment rose to a four year high of 5.7%. However, it also reported that just 51,000 jobs were lost during the month. I say “just”, because analysts were expecting 75,000 jobs lost. Either way the figures point to continuing weakness in the economy.
The Federal Reserve has another meeting next week, but it's not expected to change the short term rates at this time. As I've mentioned before, they're in a difficult spot. They would like to lower the short term rate to stimulate the economy, but the threat of inflation is too great to risk it right now.
Speaking of stimulus; the checks that were received back in May and June have now been cashed and spent. They did stimulate…
Oregon Mortgage Rates - Up Date on Lane County
Saturday, July 26th, 2008 at 1:05am. 565 Views, 0 Comments.
Rates got a tiny bit better this week as things settled down somewhat, at least temporarily, in the financial world. For the most part, nationally, banks reported better than expected earnings in the second quarter, which helped dispel the fears brought on by the Indy Mac takeover. Also, Fannie and Freddie have gained the support needed in Congress to calm things down.
The U.S. Commerce Dept. reported that orders for “durable goods” (products intended to last for more than 3 years) were up in the month of June. Also, a big surprise to analysts, the sales of new homes were up in June as well. These two reports were a positive to the economy, which in turn, was a negative to the bond market, and therefore rates were not down as far as they might have…
Lane County Oregon Mortgage Update - Florence Oregon to Eugene Oregon
Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 11:53pm. 610 Views, 4 Comments.
Continued concerns about inflation, as well as some pretty irresponsible comments regarding a long list of possible bank closures, has caused investors to leave the bond market; and the downward trend of pricing in that market has moved mortgage rates up substantially in just a few days. Compare the rates below with last Friday's, and you'll see what I mean.
The agency take-over of IndyMac Bank this past weekend was not completely unforeseen. They have been heavily leveraged in the mortgage market for many, many years, and have been the largest player in the residential construction loan market. However, the scare was due to the fact that they were a very large “bank” with depositors who had nothing to do with mortgage losses, or huge credit card…
Florence Oregon Real Estate - Time To Buy - Interest Rates Are Rising
Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at 12:05pm. 770 Views, 11 Comments.
Mortgage rates are still moving up, as more of the economic indicators are pointing down. The Labor Dept. disclosed today that the inflation rate for the last 12 months ending on May 31 st was at 4.2%. This information comes from the CPI, Consumer Price Index, which is one of the key indicators that the Federal Reserve uses to determine their course of action regarding short term interest rate increases or decreases.
Most analysts don't expect the Fed to make any changes until August or September. This is weighing heavy on the bond market, because inflation is the arch enemy of bond investors. Inflation dilutes the earnings of bonds, so the pricing for that market has been trending down for nearly 2 weeks now, and as you know, when bond pricing…
Memorial Day Tribute - Drive On by Johnny Cash
Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 9:20pm. 857 Views, 13 Comments.
I wanted to do some sort of tribute for Memorial Day, our killed and lost Soldirs, our Vets and all their families.
In my search I came across this Johnny Cash tune that just knid of hits home for me. Johnny Cash's music just kind of soothes my soul, so if you like Cash I hope you will enjoy this tune called "Drive On"
Mortgage Rates Holding Steady For Oregon Home Buyers
Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 10:50am. 743 Views, 5 Comments.
Rates are holding pretty much the same, as shown below. This morning it was reported that the April Housing Starts actually increased. Certainly not by very much, but it was an increase. The analysts had expected another decrease in the number of new homes being built. This is significant because the weak housing market has been thought to be one of the biggest contributors to the overall weakness of the economy. This turn around may be short lived, but apparently there's someone out there banking on a better market in the near future. Actually, I guess we all are, and given the knowledge we have about the power of positive thinking, it's got to be a good thing.
Okay, for the “glass half empty” folks, the University of Michigan 's Index of…
Weekly Florence Oregon Mortgage News
Saturday, May 10th, 2008 at 3:17am. 680 Views, 6 Comments.
Mortgage rates got a little better on Wednesday and Thursday, and leveled off today. We're seeing the 3 year and 5 year ARM loans coming back down to much better rates.
Some of the initial rate drops this week were spawned by the ongoing run up in the price of crude oil. Now, I have said many times that the bond market generally goes down when there is a perceived threat of inflation, thereby raising mortgage rates, and this is true. However, what we saw this week was a little different. Investors became very concerned that the inflationary affects that fuel prices are having on consumer goods would cause consumers to curtail spending. This in turn could cause the stock market to decline, so they began moving their funds from the stock market to the…
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