Sayreville, NJ

According to www.newjerseygasprices.com the average state price for regular unleaded gas today is $2.406. Just last month the average price was $1.985. That is a an increase of 21.2%!

Laws of supply and demand suggest that oil prices should stay at lower levels because of the global economic slowdown and the severe decrease of oil demand. But why are they still going up? My view is that speculators are at it again. Speculators buy future contracts of oil based on their expectations of supply and demand. If speculators think that the economy will pick up a year from now, they will buy oil at today's price to sell it at a future day in hopes of a higher price and of course profits. Oil traders 9 times out of 10 never take possession of the oil and sell it sometime between the time they bought it and the time that the oil must be bought. Because oil is the world's most actively traded commodity, there will always by a buyer to sell to. Speculators will never be stuck with millions of barrels of oil.

Another contributor is OPEC. OPEC is an organization that is made up of 12 countries that provide over 40% of the oil to the world. OPEC controls how much oil is produced by the 12 member countries and they say whether to produce more oil or not. If there is increased demand, they have the authority to produce more oil and relieve prices. But of course they do not and make a killing on us.

Of course, just like mortgage back securities and prices, there are many factors that contribute. However in my eyes these are the biggest factors that contribute to oil prices. Speculators and OPEC.

If you or anyone you know is in need of mortgage financing, give me a call direct at 908 868 0686 or email me at erodriguez@arkmortgage.com

Mortgage rates went up again today and it seems like there is no end in site. Today the unexpected good number in jobless claims created a bad atmosphere for bond trading. This good economic number of jobs lost signals that the economy may be turning around and you know that when that happens, inflation is likely. So if inflation is likely, then bond investors will require a higher demand because inflation will eat up at their returns.

Remember that the bond investor knows he/she is only getting a low fixed payment for 30 years. If the inflation rate is ticks up higher and higher and prices tick up an up, then investors lose purchasing power on their fixed payment.

So will we ever see 4% mortgage rates again? It does not look like it. With the increased supply in bonds available for sale, investors selling bonds to free up cash for stocks and unexpected good economic numbers, it is not good for mortgage rates going forward.

If you have a question about mortgages and/or mortgage rates, you can call me direct at 908 868 0685 or email me at erodriguez@arkmortgage.com

P.S. No that is not me in the picture.

Hello All,

This Morning the Pending Home Sales Number came out. This statistic comes out on the first week of every month and measures the number of homes that are "pending" sale, in other words, under contract.

In the month of April, Houses that were under contract in the United States rose to 90.3 which is up 6.7% from last month. A score of 100 is average activity from 2001-2004.

What this means is that the buyers are out in full force and are putting homes under contract. It is believed that buyers are really taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit and understanding that in order to receive it, they must close on their house before December 1st 2009.

The really good news for us in the Northeast Market is that Pending Home sales rose 32.6% in the month of April to 78.9. Although 78.9 is well below the average of 100, the increase of 32.6% is significant! We are seeing a lot of activity and the likelihood of it continuing is great.

If you have any questions or want to discuss, shoot me and email or give me a call direct.

Thanks

These tough times sometimes bring out the worst in people. Did you ever notice that when you point the finger at someone, 4 are pointing back at you! If I were a seller I would beware of the agent who changes office and affiliation as often as they change their socks. when interviewing a potential listing agent I would ask:

1. Are you also working another job?
2. How many Real Estate companies have you been with in the last 5 years?
3. How many different offices have you been with in the last five years?
4. When did you start with your current company?