The Chicago 77

10 July 2009 ? Mortgage backed bonds struggled yesterday and closed down 34 BPS. This morning bonds opened up 38bps and continue to maintain the gains?currently the mortgage backed bonds are up 50bps. The Dow is down 31 and has not had a significant rally in some time. Chevron warned investors about concerns over future [...]

9 July 2009 ? The 30-year fixed mortgage rates have really made a nice run over the past 4 weeks. Yesterday the mortgage bonds finished up 66bps, which is a very nice gain. The bonds were helped by a successful 10 Year Note Auction. Today we anticipated the bonds to open up lower as they [...]

7 July 2009 ? Bonds opened down today by 16 bps, however they have turned the corner and are now up 12bps. There is concern that inflation may be looming down the road as Vice President Joe Biden stated that more stimulus packages may be needed to curtail the unemployment rate. The current administration miscalculated [...]

24 June 2009 ? Mortgage backed bonds opened down 6 this morning and continued to trend down to -16. The 30-year and 15-year mortgage rates are priced off of mortgage backed bonds, not the 10-year Treasury bonds as many consumers mistakenly believe. Stocks rose after an earlier report from the Commerce Dept. showed orders for [...]

15 June 2009 ? After a few sharp increases, mortgage rates went down sharply late Thursday and early Friday. They aren?t down to the previous record lows, but at least it?s a step in the right direction. The Dow is up slightly, while the Nasdaq and S&P are down just a bit. The US dollar [...]

03 June 2009 – Monday afternoon was a blood bath with the mortgage bonds again, plummeting over 180 bps, and sending mortgage rates up again. Should you lock a rate?…read my post on the subject first. They have crept downward a little Tuesday and Wednesday, but not to where they were. The stock market is [...]

27 May 2009 – Mortgage rates move up drastically Wednesday. This is the sharpest increase we?ve seen in a while. GM seems poised for filing for bankruptcy. The stock market has taken a sharp turn downward Wednesday, after stocks had rallied Tuesday.

22 May 2009 – Yesterday Great Britain got its AAA credit rating downgraded for the first time, sending investors on a selling spree. There is concern that the same thing might happen in US. Stocks, bonds, T-notes, the US dollar are all down, which is unusual to have everything drop at once. So, Thursday afternoon [...]

14 May 2009 – Mortgage interest rates have dipped just a bit Tuesday and Wednesday. Rates have been holding low since late November. The markets opened up just a bit higher Thursday morning, with the Dow just above 8300. GM and Chrysler announced plans to lay off thousands, and close thousands of dealerships across the [...]

The Dow has dropped a bit, down to below 8400 Wednesday morning, as retail sales have been slumping. On the plus side, mortgage rates are down a little Tuesday and Wednesday. Secretary Geithner says the financial system is starting to heal, but we obviously have a way to go. Did you know? Did you know [...]

28 April 2009 – Mortgage interest rates are actually doing very well today! We recommend a cautiously float stance as it relates to mortgage interest rate locks. If we continue to see deterioration of the market indices we would recommend locking. But for now, let’s just watch the market and if stocks start to fly, [...]

27 April 2009 – Mortgage rates were up slightly toward the end of last week. Some economists are saying we are seeing the end of the housing slump now. Effective May 1, the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) goes into effect (click here for detailed article by certified appraiser, Katie Anderson). What the [...]

17 April 2009 ? Mortgage interest rates are still holding steady and we are recommending a “cautiously” floating approach to locking loans. The mortgage bonds, which provide strong indicators of mortgage interest rates, are hovering slightly higher than a major support level, if the bonds dip below this support level we will more than likely [...]