Don Polletta - CT FHA loans

Connecticut Mortgage Rates were near unchanged for the week amid very choppy trading conditions. Stronger than expected factory orders and ISM Index data were generally not bond friendly and attributed to higher rates in the middle of the week. Fortunately the Fed indicated the continued desire to keep mortgage rates low for an extended period. In addition, higher than expected unemployment and more payroll losses than expected helped mortgage bonds rally Friday. For the week, Connecticut mortgage rates finished near unchanged.

The record debt auctions Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday will once again take center stage as the Veterans holiday Wednesday splits the trading week in half. Strong foreign demand remains necessary for interest rates to stay relatively low. The trade data Friday will also be important.

LOOKING AHEAD

Economic Indicator	Release Date & Time	Consensus Estimate	Analysis
3-year Treasury Note Auction	Monday, Nov. 9, 12:00 pm, et	None	Important. $40 billion of notes will be auctioned. Strong demand may lead to lower mortgage rates.
10-year Treasury Note Auction	Tuesday, Nov. 10, 12:00 pm, et	None	Important. $25 billion of notes will be auctioned. Strong demand may lead to lower mortgage rates.
Veterans Day	Wednesday, Nov. 11		Important. Shortened trading week may lead to mortgage interest rate volatility.
30-year Treasury Bond Auction	Thursday, Nov. 12, 12:00 pm, et	None	Important. $16 billion of bonds will be auctioned. Strong demand may lead to lower mortgage rates.
Trade Data	Friday, Nov. 13, 8:30 am, et	$31.9 billion	Important. Affects the value of the dollar. A falling deficit may strengthen the dollar and lead to lower rates.
U of Michigan Consumer Sentiment	Friday, Nov. 13, 10:00 am, et	71.8	Important. An indication of consumers' willingness to spend. Weakness may lead to lower mortgage rates.

Trading This Week

Market conditions that often lead to Connecticut mortgage rate volatility are thin trading and shortened trading weeks. If very few market participants are buying and selling bonds, the potential for short-term volatility is escalated. A large buyer or seller can execute trading orders that, without additional traders to buffer out the extreme buying or selling, can lead to swift market movements. In addition, shortened trading weeks have the potential to compress a week's worth of trading into fewer days. Bond traders often take defensive positions ahead of weekends and holidays to guard against unforeseen events that could possibly jeopardize their investments. This positioning can be beneficial or detrimental to mortgage interest rates. If investors sell stocks and buy mortgage-backed securities, mortgage interest rates will improve. However, if investors sell mortgage-backed securities and hold cash positions, mortgage interest rates will rise.

Holidays can often result in volatility as trading resumes following the extended close. The Fed continues to state the goal of low interest rates for some time. It is hard to argue they have not been effective with that goal so far this year. That doesn't mean we haven't and won't see any mortgage rate volatility. Recent history attests to spikes and drops in rates throughout the year even with the Fed pumping $1.25 trillion in mortgage bonds. The big unknown remains when and how the Fed will exit the market without severe disruptions. Fed officials admit the future remains uncertain, and results from government stimulus programs remains to be seen.

This week could result in market swings that are favorable or negative in nature. Considering the heightened possibility for mortgage interest rate volatility, a cautious approach to interest rate exposure is prudent.

For more news and information on Connecticut Mortgage Rates visit www.ToMortgageServices.com, or call us directly at (800) 922-3210

Congress gave final approval to legislation expanding an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. The House passed the extension on Thursday and President Obama is expected to sign it today. The new bill extends until April 30, 2010 for the tax credit for first-time homebuyers that would otherwise expire at the end of this month.

Changes:

The new legislation will allow the credit for couples earning up to $225,000 a year and individuals earning up to $125,000. That's up from the current $75,000 limit for individuals and $150,000 for couples.

Current Homeowners

The new bill will allow homebuyers who have owned their prior residence for at least five years to receive a $6,500 credit. Those who sell their new home or no longer use it as their main residence within three years would have to repay the credit. Homes worth more than $800,000 wouldn't be eligible.

Moving Forward

The homebuyers' credit will hopefully pave the way for stabilization in the housing market. The government has also made recent attempts to get the economy moving in other areas such as the now expired "cash for clunkers" program, and the recently initiated government appliance rebate program, but these programs wont be able to deliver a boost to the economy that a strong housing market can deliver.

For more news and information about purchasing a home or refinancing you can visit http://www.CHFAMortgageLoan.com or call (800) 922-3210.

Connecticut First time homebuyers may never see a better time to buy than right now. The CHFA loan program is now offering 30 year fixed rate mortgages at 4.75%. Here are the chfa mortgage rates as of November 5, 2009:

Homebuyer Mortgage Program

Interest rate: 4.750 % (APR range 4.850 - 5.250 %)
Term - 30 years, fixed rate

Down Payment Assistance Program (DAP)
(Rate listed is for DAP loans with Homebuyer Mortgage Program financing.)__________________________________________________

Interest rate: 4.750 % (APR range 4.850 - 5.250 %)
Term - 30 years, fixed rate

Urban Rehabilitation Homeownership (UR Home) Program

Interest rate: 4.500 % (APR range 4.600 - 5.000 %)
Term - 30 years, fixed rate

Pilot Homeownership and Downpayment Assistance Program for Manchester

Interest rate: 4.500 % (APR range 4.600 - 5.000)
Term - 30 years, fixed rate

Homeownership Program,
Home of Your Own Program,
Police Homeownership Program,
Teachers Mortgage Assistance Program, and
Military Homeownership Program

Interest rate: 4.625 % % (APR range 4.725 - 5.125 %)
Term - 30 years, fixed rate

You can find more news and information about the CHFA Loan program, and Down Payment Assistance programs in Connecticut at www.CHFAMortgageLoan.com or call us directly at (800) 922-3210

Mortgage bond prices rose last week pushing CT mortgage rates lower. Rates spiked higher Monday morning as stocks surged and the Treasury auctions loomed. Fortunately, foreign demand for the notes was solid, helping to keep mortgage rates low. The stock markets remained volatile all week with the Dow Jones index swinging by triple digits both up and down.

For the week, interest rates improved by about 1/4 of a discount point.

The Fed meeting on Wednesday will be the most important event this week. Productivity and employment figures are likely to move the market.

LOOKING AHEAD

Economic Indicator	Release Date & Time	Consensus Estimate	Analysis
ISM Index	Monday, Nov. 2, 10:00 am, et	53.0	Important. A measure of manufacturer sentiment. Weakness may lead to lower mortgage rates.
Factory Orders	Tuesday, Nov. 3, 10:00 am, et	Up 1.0%	Important. A measure of manufacturing sector strength. Weakness may lead to lower rates.
ADP Employment	Wednesday, Nov. 4, 8:30 am, et	Down 190k	Important. An indication of unemployment. A larger decrease in payrolls may bring lower rates.
Fed Meeting Adjourns	Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2:15 pm, et	No rate change	Important. Few expect the Fed to change rates, but some volatility may surround the adjournment of this meeting.
Preliminary Q3 Productivity	Thursday, Nov. 5, 8:30 am, et	Up 5.8%	Important. A measure of output per hour. Improvement may lead to lower mortgage rates.
Employment	Friday, Nov. 6, 8:30 am, et	Unemp. @ 9.9%, Payrolls -166k	Very important. An increase in unemployment or a large decrease in payrolls may bring lower rates.

Volatility Likely

The likeliness of CT mortgage rates being volatile this week is very high considering the abundance of important economic releases.

Each piece of data has the ability to cause volatility in the financial markets. Floating ahead of the data exposes a person to a tremendous amount of risk. It is possible for interest rates to improve if the data shows weakness in the economy with few price pressures. However, any surprises will likely be bad for mortgage interest rates.

Governmental actions in addition to the economic data continue to weigh upon the financial markets. We are really in uncharted territory here with the wobbly underpinnings of the economy. Credit remains tight, as lending has become more stringent. However, there still remain funds available. Real estate transactions continue to take place despite perceptions to the contrary.

The important thing to remember is that even the Treasury officials trying to shore the economy do not know exactly what the future holds. With this in mind, be cautious during these times of economic uncertainty and be ready to lock in the event interest rates start to spike higher.

For more news and information about CT mortgage rates, or CT homebuyer programs you can visit www.CHFAMortgageLoan.com, or call us directly at (800) 922-3210.

CT Mortgage rates ended the week nearly unchanged despite considerable market volatility. Trading was up and down all week. Rates improved the first portion of the week as stocks fell below key psychological levels. Unfortunately a reversal the middle portion of the week eroded the earlier improvements. Data was mixed with tame inflation readings but generally stronger than expected economic activity. For the week, interest rates were near unchanged.

The Treasury auctions will take center stage again this week. If there is strong foreign demand it will likely spill over to the mortgage bond market. Weak auctions will likely result in mortgage interest rate increases. Employment cost index data will also be carefully watched.

LOOKING AHEAD

Economic Indicator	Release Date & Time	Consensus Estimate	Analysis
Durable Goods Orders	Tuesday, Oct. 27, 8:30 am, et	Up 0.7%	Important. An indication of the demand for "big ticket" items. Weakness may lead to lower rates.
Consumer Confidence	Tuesday, Oct. 27, 10:00 am, et	54.0	Important. An indication of consumers' willingness to spend. Weakness may lead to lower mortgage rates.
2-year Treasury Note Auction	Tuesday, Oct. 27, 1:30 pm, et	None	Important. $44 billion of notes will be auctioned. Strong demand may lead to lower mortgage rates.
New Home Sales	Wednesday, Oct. 28, 10:00 am, et	Up 2.6%	Important. An indication of economic strength and credit demand. Weakness may lead to lower rates.
5-year Treasury Note Auction	Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1:30 pm, et	None	Important. $41 billion of notes will be auctioned. Strong demand may lead to lower mortgage rates.
Q3 Advance GDP	Thursday, Oct. 29, 8:30 am, et	Up 3.1%	Very important. The aggregate measure of US economic production. Weakness may lead to lower rates.
7-year Treasury Note Auction	Thursday, Oct. 29, 1:30 pm, et	None	Important. $31 billion of notes will be auctioned. Strong demand may lead to lower mortgage rates.
Personal Income and Outlays	Friday, Oct. 30, 8:30 am, et	Unchanged, Down 0.4%	Important. A measure of consumers' ability to spend. Weakness may lead to lower mortgage rates.
Q3 Employment Cost Index	Friday, Oct. 30, 8:30 am, et	Up 0.5%	Very important. A measure of wage inflation. Weakness may lead to lower rates.
U of Michigan Consumer Sentiment	Friday, Oct. 30, 10:00 am, et	70.0	Important. An indication of consumers' willingness to spend. Weakness may lead to lower mortgage rates.

Existing Home Sales

Last week's existing home sales data shocked the market with a stronger than expected increase. Sales rose 9.4%, considerably stronger than the expected 5.5% increase. Some analysts attribute the surge in sales to the $8000 tax credit that is currently set to expire at the end of November. Lower home prices and historically low CT mortgage rates also factored into the increase. From a national perspective this is a positive report. However, the fact that some major metropolitan areas of the country failed to see improvements is an example of the axiom that real estate is local.

There is still uncertainty regarding the future state of the economy. CT mortgage rates are great. Take advantage of them while that remains the case. Currently the fixed rate for CHFA "chafa" loans is at 4.75%, and offers down payment assistance to 100% of the purchase price. For more information visit http://www.chfamortgageloan.com