Daily Rate Lock Advice & Mortgage Market Update 12-17

DAILY MORTGAGE LOCK ADVISORY

December 18, 2011, 6:00 AM PST

Click for Lock Advice Updated Several Times Daily

7 day Mortgage Interest Rate lock or Float Advice: FLOAT
Mortgage Points based on 3.5% Mortgage Backed Securities closed Friday down 0.18 point and up 0.66 for the week.

30 Day Mortgage Interest Rate Lock or Float Advice: FLOAT with Caution
The market is going sideways and there is not conclusive evidence to lock but, In this uncertain market the best advice is to lock at historic low rates.

MORTGAGE MARKET INDICATORS
National Average Fixed Rate Mortgage 3.94%
MBS (3.5%) - 102.63, High: 102.63, Low: 102.34
DJI Stocks closed Friday $11,934.13, Up $65.32, Change 0.547%
Asian & European Stock Market Indexes Up 0.063%
Nymex Crude Oil closed Friday: $93.53 Down $0.34

PEOPLE SEND ME STUFF

Monks who have take the oath of silence sing the Hallelujah Chorus. Thanks to Nick Velco

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August Scampone sent an explaination of what caused the bank bailout in a way that even I can understand. Click Link

MORTGAGE NEWS BRIEFS

Next Week Ahead: Housing and More Europe Watching

Written By Dunstan Prial
Housing data will dominate the economic reports released next week ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The National Association of Home Builders’ housing market index is out on Monday and is used as a gauge of home buying sentiment. The index isn’t expected to move from its November level.
The Commerce Department on Tuesday will issue its report on housing starts and permits. That number also isn’t expected to move much from November. On Thursday the Federal Housing Finance Agency releases its home price index.
Reports on existing home sales and new homes sales are due Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Read More Fox Business News

Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows. Again
Lack of action from the Fed on monetary policy, wrangling in the nation's Capitol, and ongoing problems overseas helped push mortgage rates to new record lows this week. Finance Web site Bankrate.com recorded an all-time low for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which slammed into 4.19 percent, down from 4.24 percent. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac countered with rates for the benchmark loan that again fell to 3.94 percent, down from 3.99 percent from the week before. » Read More MReport

California Leads U.S. in Mortgage Fraud
California tops a list of states for mortgage fraud activity, as the state's courts pursue more cases against alleged frausters, MortgageDaily.com found in an index it released Wednesday. The Web site documented activity in FraudBlogger.com, a mortgage fraud blog. While California claimed the top spot, New York and Florida also found themselves perched considerably high on the index, followed shortly by South Carolina and Minnesota. New York ranked second by dollar volume in mortgage fraud at $199,600,000. » Read More HousingWire