Mortgage Week In Review
July 28th, 2008 categories: Mortgage Reviews
 
 Happy Monday to everyone! Once a week my favorite mortgage man here at Beverly-Hanks, Cameron Lewis, puts out an excellent, to-the-point review of where the mortgage markets are going, or what’s happening in the financial markets that affects mortgages. I’m happy to share these with you on a weekly basis and you will find them most likely on Mondays or Wednesdays. If you have specific questions for Cameron, I will be including all of his contact information at the end of this article.
Besides providing support for Fannie and Freddie, the Housing Bill will also help the housing market in other ways. One program will allow the FHA to insure up to $300 billion in new loans targeted at troubled homeowners. Another program adds tax credits for first-time homebuyers, which in essence will be a 15-year interest free loan for up to $7,500. In addition, the bill provides funds for more low income housing and grants to be made for local community redevelopment. A wide range of smaller programs are included as well.
The economic news in the housing sector was mixed. June Existing Home Sales fell slightly, and inventory levels of unsold homes increased. In contrast, New Home Sales were significantly higher than expected in June, and the May figures were revised higher as well. High inventory levels will probably need to come down to achieve a meaningful recovery in the housing market, but the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) believes that the Housing Bill will play a major role in helping the housing market to rebound. In particular, he expects the first-time homebuyer tax credit to boost future home sales.
Friday will be the big day next week. The important Employment report will come out that day. As usual, this data on the number of new jobs created, the Unemployment Rate, and wage inflation will be the most highly anticipated economic data of the month, since the health of the labor market is perhaps the single biggest factor in the performance of the economy. Early estimates are for a loss of 70K jobs in July.
The first reading of second quarter 2008 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be released on Thursday. GDP is the broadest measure of economic activity. The two national manufacturing indexes, the ISM and the Chicago PMI, will come out on Thursday and Friday. Consumer Confidence and Construction Spending will round out the schedule.
Cameron M Lewis
Beverly-Hanks Mortgage Services
Residential & Commercial Financing
828-258-1945 Office
828-231-4909
828-254-7202 Fax
877-293-5946 Toll Free
I’m not sure why some of those government reports have sounded so optimistic. I’m not a big fan of lowering standards just to make one feel better. That’s not an achievement. Just tell it like it is.