Mortgage Discussion for the Panhandle area

Yes it is true the Federal Reserve has acted to correct our market conditions. Yesterday was BIG in the mortgage world as First Magnus went belly up and Countrywide borrowed 11.5 Billion to keep funding loans. Rumors are rampid that Countrywide will be filing bankruptcy soon. I am not sure I believe the rumors but the mortgage business is in crisis. What does all this mean? I have to say not too much. Mortgage companies who were lending money to bad risk customers will get what they deserve. The rest of us who always closed good sound loans will not be affected. Realtors should not see many changes either. You will have some trouble closing Jumbo ($417K +) loans in the short run with some mortgage companies and banks but we are still closing plenty of them. The cut in rates will help the housing market as well as the liquidity of the mortgage business. If you have customers sitting on the fence about buying now may be the best time as rates will start to head lower. When rates fall housing prices will rise.

Thank you for your time

Joe Woodall

America's Mortgage Experts

The investment market as cooled a bit, another big mortgage company has fallen on hard times and gas prices have eased. What does this all mean? Well it is another good push for the housing market as rates have setteled down a bit. The 30 year fixed rates are back down to 6.375% from the 6.75% of weeks past. This may be the time to check on that customer who was sitting on the fence and not buying because of rates or payments. The looming question remains. "How long will it last?" If I knew that answer the Casino's in Biloxi would not be so happy to see me when I visit. We are a couple weeks away from the busy driving seasons end so gas prices should remain somewhat calm. The market is in good shape we just ran the stocks too quickly and we bounced back a little. The kicker, and it is somewhat ironic, is the mortgage industry. Who will fall and who will stand tall. That will depend on past lending practices and how each company copes with todays market. Tell your customers to make sure the mortgage company they deal with is healthy and honest. My simple test is to walk in to any mortgage company and see how many times the phone rings. That is a simple test but it works.

Look for stable rates for a little while and we will talk later.

Joe Woodall