In a week packed with a Fed meeting, significant economic data, and Treasury auctions, there were no major surprises to be found. European events, often a source of market moving headlines, also had little impact this week. As a result, mortgage rates ended the week with little change. After the Fed’s blockbuster announcement for a […]

Americans, including Michigan residents, are starting to feel better about the economy, and the improvements in the housing market are proof of that.  An October Gallup poll shows that for the first time in over 5 years, more people are beginning to feel comfortable about the economic shifts than a year ago. “This is not […]

In recent weeks, mortgage rates have been pushed and pulled mostly by Fed policy expectations and European Union headlines. With little news on these fronts, though, the US economic data emerged as the main driver of mortgage rates this week. Unfortunately for mortgage rates, the data was generally stronger than expected, and rates ended the […]

While a mortgage lender in Michigan is going to look at your credit score closely at your credit report when you want to apply for a mortgage to buy a new home, they’re also going to look at the individual items on your report.  To get the most accurate picture they typically pull from all […]

During a reasonably quiet week, global concerns caused investors to seek relatively safer assets. Stronger than expected US economic data had little impact. As a result, mortgage rates  ended the week a little lower. Worried about the pace of global economic growth and unrest in many regions, investors shifted to relatively safer assets, including US […]

Where Have All the Metro Detroit Foreclosures Gone? Investors are scooping up foreclosures in Michigan and other states.  On top of that, first-time buyers are shooting for deep discounts available through foreclosures when they buy homes in cities around metro Detroit (Northville, Novi, Plymouth, Canton, Royal Oak, etc.) The result is that foreclosures throughout the […]

An improving US economic outlook and increased optimism about Europe were unfavorable influences on mortgage rates this week. Fed purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) under QE3 helped offset the losses, though. As a result, after several weeks of declines, mortgage rates ended the week just slightly higher. Friday’s Employment report was the big news this […]

It was another good week for mortgage rates. Concerns about the level of global economic growth and about the progress of reforms in Europe were favorable for mortgage rates, which ended the week lower. Nearly all of the major economic data released this week reflected slower economic growth. In the US, GDP, Durable Orders, and […]

Global central banks continued to add monetary stimulus this week, which was favorable for US bonds. The economic data was roughly neutral. As a result, mortgage rates ended the week a little lower. On Wednesday, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced that it will increase its level of monetary stimulus, following similar recent moves by […]

With few surprises from Europe or the economic data, by far the biggest story of the week was Thursday’s Fed announcement. The Fed’s decision was extremely favorable for mortgage rates, which improved after the news and ended the week lower. The Fed announced that it will implement a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) to […]