ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2016
Wells Fargo CEO and Chairman John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million in unvested equity and temporarily forgo his salary as the company launches an investigation in the retail banking unit. The bank was hit with $185 million in penalties for opening fee-generated accounts without the knowledge of cu...
09/28/2016
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The Commerce Department reported on Monday that New Home Sales in August fell 7.6% from July to an annual rate of 609,000, which beat expectations of 585,000. Sales plunged 34% in the Northeast, fell 2.4% in the Midwest, dropped 1.3% in the South, but increased 8% in the West. Supply was running ...
09/26/2016
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported on Wednesday that its Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage loan application volume, fell 7.3% in the latest week as mortgage rates edged higher. In addition, the refinance index declined 8%, while the purchase index decreased 9%. The ...
09/21/2016
The National Association of Home Builders reported on Monday that its Housing Market Index, a measure of builder confidence, surged in September rising to 65, above the 60 expected and up from the 59 recorded in August. The 65 recorded match an 11-month high. The big jump was due in part to risin...
09/19/2016
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Inflation at the consumer level edged higher in August led by higher rental, medical and prescription drug costs. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in August above the 0.1% expected. When stripping out volatile food and energy, the so-called Core CPI rose 0.3% versus the 0.2% expected. More impo...
09/16/2016
After 11 straight weeks below 3.50%, mortgage rates rose in the latest week to a post-Brexit high. Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed conventional mortgage rate ($417,000 or less), rose to 3.50% from 3.44% with 0.5 in points and fees. A year ago the rate was 3.91%. Despite the increase, ...
09/15/2016
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Mortgage rates continue to hover just above all-time lows, which has been key in the positive news coming out of the housing sector. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported on Wednesday that its Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage loan application volume, rose 4.2% in the ...
09/14/2016
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Chances of an interest rate hike declined today after dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard yesterday. Ms. Brainard's dovish comments dialed back the previous hawkish statements by several Fed members in the past week. Ms. Brainard said that she would like to see a stronger ...
09/13/2016
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After last week's decline, U.S. Stock markets kicked off the new week on a positive note. The recent push lower in the equity markets were touched off by fears of a hike in the Federal Reserve's short-term Fed Funds Rate. The Fed Funds Rate is the rate in which depository institutions lend balanc...
09/12/2016
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Despite the recent positive developments in the labor force, things may not be as good as they seem. In a recent report by President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, 83% of men in the prime working ages of 25-54 who were not in the labor force had not worked in the previous year. This equals...
09/08/2016
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Steve Reed
Steve Reed Branch Manager | Benchmark Home Loans