Mortgage markets yawn at bailout
October 3rd, 2008, 3:46 pm · 3 Comments · posted by Mathew Padilla, Reporter
Despite the hype around President Bush and Congress passing a massive $700 billion package to aid financial markets, mortgage rates didn’t budge today in Orange County, said John Belles, a vice president and sales manager in the Brea office of Bank of America.
Belles said he usually sees consumer rates change at least once during the day on major news, but today they didn’t. Rates may or may not shift on Monday, as markets have time to digest the bailout.
“This is definitely a shot in the right direction,” Belles said. “You just don’t know how much help it will be yet.”
Brokers for the past couple of weeks have said rates on loans up the old conforming limit of $417,000 have hovered just shy of 6% with a one-point fee. Rates on larger loans up to nearly $730,000 are a quarter of a percentage point or so greater.
And in other mortgage news…
- How long should we wait to refinance?
- O.C. home loans sold off at half price
- Bailout bill could save Downey
- Subprime’s dearly departed
- Are four big lenders enough?
- Comments stuck
- WaMu’s odd subprime timing
- O.C. mortgage rates dip amid turmoil
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Note to those who have not been paying any attention. The government already owned the mortgage market - FHA, FNM, FRE.
October 5th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
It’s sure a good thing that we bent over backwards so that people with shaky credit history and little to no money could become home owners. Now that their inability to pay has wrecked our financial system, why don’t we just nationalize all loans and let people pay what they feel like they can afford? And while we’re at it, let’s give out ration cards and start up some bread lines. Before long we’ll be living in the United Soviet Socialist Republic of America.
Anyone else think it’s completely unfair to be forced to support this “bailout?”
October 5th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Just passing the bill does not increase lending liquidity overnight. Also, bad economic news increases lending risk - less money goes to mortgage backed securities - which reflects in rate increases (see unemployment reports and August 08 fall in factory orders by 4%, well above predicted 2.5% decrease). If economic suituation deteriorates further, the rates may still go up. How much they go up is usualy restricted by what market can bare - e.g. competition and supply of qualified borrowers.