Frank Nothaft Quotes (212 Quotes)

It has continued to creep up over time in reaction to the Fed's moves, ... The difference between the 30-year FRM and the 1-year ARM is only about 1-14 percent, the narrowest it has been since March of 1999, making the 30-year FRM more attractive.

Mortgage rates have held at record low levels thereby reducing mortgage payments and making home buying affordable for a great number of families, ... Low rates have also kept the refinance market bustling and the reduced interest rate on mortgages gave homeowners about 100 more per month to spend or save.

A 51 hybrid ARM provides the consumer the comfort of knowing that the interest rate will be fixed over the first five years of the loan. However, the interest rate may jump as much as five percentage points on the fifth anniversary.

With still little or no threat of inflation to be found, long-term mortgage rates this week had some breathing room and that allowed rates to drift a little lower,

The market interpreted recently released retail sales figures as a sign that the economy may now be recovering faster than originally thought, bringing fear of inflation back into the picture, ... But the good news is that April's Consumer Price Index (CPI), which came out Wednesday, indicates inflation remains under control. This should help keep mortgage rates stable for the foreseeable future.

And with mortgage rates at their lowest level in six months, home sales should continue strong through the autumn months.

Speculation that the Fed will not raise interest rates any time soon should help restrain any upward pressure on mortgage rates.

People are feeling much more financially secure. Families who are more financially secure are much more likely to buy a big-ticket item, like a house.

Further, the Fed will release its policy statement next week, giving financial markets a better sense of what future actions the Fed may be contemplating. All of this will help determine where mortgage rates will be in the near future.

News that wages grew faster than had been expected in October reinforced fears of inflation in the financial markets, and that bumped up interest rates again this week.

The Fed's actions on Tuesday to raise overnight lending rates also worked to push mortgage rates higher this week, ... Because the Fed's action impacts short-term rates more than long-term, the largest effect was on ARMS, which rose significantly after the Fed announced its raise.

We see no signs of a bursting bubble, but rather a return to a more normal pace of activity.

Mortgage rates drifted upward this week following the release of the Consumer and Producer Price Indexes for March, which came in at the upper end of market expectations for inflation.

Even if the loan adjusts upward next year, the amount ARMs are allowed to rise is typically capped at 2 more percentage points. If that happened, the interest rate would be at 7 percent at most -- no higher than the fixed-rate loans,

Interest rates for long-term mortgages slipped lower this week due to some economic data releases that pointed towards more subdued inflation in the near term.

That raised the expectation that inflation may be more of a threat than was previously thought, and that kind of thinking promotes upward pressure on mortgage rates like we saw across the board this week.

With productivity up and inflationary pressures muted, the Federal Reserve Board elected this week not to change a key short-term interest rate. Moreover, most other economic data releases, such as unemployment and manufacturing, painted a slightly negative picture for future economic growth. These factors combined to keep mortgage rates stable.

There were further signs this week that the economy may be finally taking a turn for the better, ... Evidence of this change in momentum can be seen in the Fed's remarks yesterday that it was taking a neutral bias in terms of future intervention.

Our Primary Mortgage Market Survey results this week show mortgage rates slipping again, which will all but guarantee that the housing industry will continue at its robust pace and set yet again, another record for both new construction and overall home sales.

However, the rise in mortgage rates will be measured, not extreme, and that will help keep the housing industry stable and affordable in the coming months.

Concern that long-term interest rates are too low and comments from Fed officials this week helped push mortgage rates higher this week,

Las Vegas generally runs above the national average in investor and second-home purchase activity. It's beginning to raise flags.

Today's annual average mortgage rates are below even that projection thanks to the spring 'soft-patch' in economic growth.

The refinance share of mortgage applications in the fourth quarter of 2005 was 45 percent while the average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed 0.4 percentage points and 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable mortgage rates jumped 0.6 percentage points from third-quarter averages. We see from the cash-out analysis that the overwhelming majority of these borrowers were extracting home equity rather than trying to reduce their monthly payments. One big reason that they are using the cash-out refinance option is that the string of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve Board have pushed the rates on home-equity loans up. Home-equity loans are typically linked to the prime rate, which currently is at 7.5 percent. In contrast, the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages is presently near 6.25 percent.

Continuing low rates will keep the housing industry abuzz. As a matter of fact, both new and existing housing sales figures in April are expected to come in at or near record levels.

Given the current economy, mortgage rates can only rise so much in a short period of time,

Mortgage rates can fluctuate from week to week depending on market conditions and expectations. That is probably what happened this week. Nonetheless, long-term mortgage rates are at about the same low level they were at this time last year. So it isn't surprising that the housing industry continues to thrive.

Responding to a weak labor market report that showed November job growth to be far less than had been anticipated, long-term yields -- and that includes mortgage rates -- reversed last week's hike and fell to the previous week's level.

Additionally, the Federal Reserve Board appears to be on target in quelling any future surges in inflation.

In his speech to the Bay Area Council Conference last Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan remarked that we were not out of the woods yet, leading the financial markets to suspect another rate cut may be in the offing. This brought about this week's drop in interest rates in anticipation of such an event.

Over the last few months, the interest rate difference between fixed-rate mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) has thinned. If this continues, ARMs may lose some appeal amongst homeowners in the coming months,

Mortgage rates were relatively unchanged this week as the markets wait for the results of the upcoming Federal Reserve policy committee meeting.

As if all that wasn't enough, the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the echo effects on future energy prices in the U. S. may mean that mortgages rates will fall even further in the coming days ahead.

Last week's Federal Reserve Board's policy statement led financial markets to expect that the economy should begin to pick up soon, and that caused bond yields to rise pretty steadily over the last number of days,

Anticipation of a 25-basis-point rate cut pushed mortgage rates downward in this week's survey, and we expect to see further downward drifts over the coming week or so as the market moves on the actual larger rate cut itself.

The most likely pattern is for mortgage rates to gradually rise over time. It is likely that they'll hover at 6 percent or just a bit over.

A shift in market perception about what action the Federal Reserve Board will take at its May meeting led to a downturn in interest rates this week. Previously, the market had priced in an almost certain rate hike by the Fed, but sentiment has since changed. Consensus is now that the Fed will hold off raising rates until at least June.

This week's easing off in mortgage rates is rooted in the market's wait-and-see posture with regard to the Federal Reserve Board's upcoming actions on interest rates,

Following the onset of the Iraqi conflict, financial markets seem to have an upward bias for mortgage rates. However, that's not to say that uncertainty has diminished in any large way, but that it has shifted to a different set of unknowns.

The level of interest rates has slowed home sales in recent months, even though house prices still grew at a double-digit annualized pace during the final quarter of 2005, according to Freddie Mac's Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI). Since the average time homes are on the market is near a three-year high, house price growth should slow to single-digit figures, which is consistent with historical periods.

Mortgage rates were largely unchanged this week, amid a sobering December jobs report and growing tensions in the (Middle East) and the Korean peninsula. Disappointing retail sales, a struggling manufacturing sector, and mild business investment are all holding mortgage rates in the six-percent range.

Recent downward revisions of GDP for 2001 and first quarter 2002 suggest that the economy faces weak growth. This led to anticipation that the Fed will reduce overnight interest rates by the end of the year, if not sooner. That expectation, in turn, has created a boon for potential and existing homeowners in the form of lower mortgage rates.

Over the past few weeks, financial markets have been gearing up for greater growth in the economy, which ultimately leads to higher inflation rates. As a result, mortgage rates increased for the second time this week.

Mortgage rates will surely fluctuate in the weeks and months ahead, but the trend now is for higher rates over the long run.

New records have been set in originations, refinancing, and housing starts over the last few years, highlighting the industry as a strong, functional segment of the economy. The Mortgage Bankers Association of America's applications for home purchase figures for last week hit an all-time record high, bolstering our prediction that 2003 will be yet another banner year for housing.

Although mortgage rates ticked up this week, the 30-year mortgage rate -- apart from a brief two-week stint in March -- has stayed below six percent all year. As a result, the housing industry is likely headed for another record-breaking year.

However, today's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures show a robust growth rate of 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 2000 amid signs that inflation appears to be picking up, ... This means there is little doubt the Fed will increase short-term rates at

That said, January housing starts were the highest in over 20 years, and that is based on higher rates than we are currently experiencing. All in all, the little run-up in rates that occurred this week will not be enough to cause a significant slowdown in current housing market activity.

Not only did the market get good news about September employment last week, but it was further bolstered by the upward revision of jobs in August, ... This inspired a little optimism in the market that we may have bottomed out as far as job losses are concerned.

Employment figures for February are due out tomorrow. The expectation is that over 100,000 much needed jobs will have been created last month and that will help sustain economic growth.