Ukraine Invasion Market Reaction
Interest rates retreated from 2019 peaks as the Ukraine invasion by Russia escalates and grows more uncertain. No one knows if, when, and how this will end. When the world experiences tense geopolitical moments, it drives what is called a “safe-haven” trade into the...
Could rates have peaked – Part 3 of 3
Russia/Ukraine Remains Unresolved High oil prices are rough. It’s a tax on consumers that goes uncollected. Should the Russia/Ukraine story escalate, and oil prices head higher, the Fed will have to soften its tone and be more dovish or accommodative. The opposite is...
Could rates have peaked – Part 2 of 3
Things Are Not All that great with the economy In addition to the inflation problem, the economy is decelerating. Economic growth is slowing. The consumer is assuming more credit card debt to pay for items and fuel costs are soaring. This is a very difficult...
Could rates have peaked – Part 1 of 3
Financial Conditions Have Already Tightened Part of the Fed’s mandate is to maintain price stability (inflation). The Fed helps lower inflation by raising the Fed Funds Rate, which tightens monetary conditions and slows economic demand. If demand slows, prices come...
Buying a second home with a conventional mortgage loan just got a lot more expensive
There will be significant rate increases taking effect April 1st, 2022. This is not an early April Fool’s joke. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implementing new ways to help folks needing assistance with owning a home. I think it is a great idea. However, in order to...
3 takeaways for the Wednesday January 26th Federal Reserve meeting.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday provided the clearest hint yet that it could start raising interest rates as soon as March A .25% increase is expected. The market experts were predicting 3 rate hikes. Now they are predicting 4 hikes. This will be the beginning to the...
What to expect in 2022 housing and mortgage: Inventory will remain low
More properties became available as the spring home buying season heated up in 2021. There were also more people in the market to buy a home, creating very stiff competition and raising prices across the board. In 2021, home inventory was tightest at the lower end of...
What to expect in 2022: A likely end to record mortgage rates
2021 began with the lowest interest rates on record...but they didn't last long. By April, they had already reached the peak for 2021. And we can very likely expect rates to move even higher in the new year. The Federal Reserve has given several signals that the...
Loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will rise by the largest percentage ever
As home prices continue their record-breaking climb, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said last week that loan limits for mortgages that can be bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2022 will rise by the largest percentage ever. They increased the conforming loan...
Alterna Mortgage Online Tools – Make Sense of the Numbers
Sometimes it is easier to understand refinancing or home purchasing numbers when we can visualize them. Alterna Mortgage has a few interactive visual charts on our website to make the overall picture of recent (and historical) rates more clear:...