Al Grant's Blog

So I'm probably not breaking the story wide open when I tell you that the Fed lowered it's key short term rates yesterday. What you may not know was that the best mortgage interest rate opportunities were in the morning in anticipation of the Fed's move. The cut itself was pretty much on target with projections but the ensuing stock rally actually hurt fixed rates in the afternoon. We were able to protect several clients with favorable locks early in the day.

For me the much more encouraging news came this morning with the word that the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), which oversees Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, has unveiled a plan to ease capital requirements. This is projected to pump close to $200 billion into the mortgage market. The freed up money should go toward buying mortgages of struggling homeowners to enable them to refinance into more affordable loans. This appears to be a real solution for borrowers versus some of the political chest-beating that has gone on recently.

Get the facts on what is going on out there... when you read the paper, look at the internet or watch the news don't forget the press' mantra... "If it bleeds it leads"...

There are great opportunities out there right now for the prudent borrower and investor.