Ask any loan agent who knows their stuff, and they will say, “I have a stack of files sitting on that table that, if rates drop a little, they’re going to fund!” Well, there is good news today as Treasury rates are relatively stable but the market is starting to help mortgage-backed securities. Where were you in June 2003? Not that it has mattered in the slightest lately, but the 10-yr Treasury yield hit its low of 3.10% on June 13, 2003. Today the 10-yr stands at 3.45%, but 30-yr mortgage prices are better by .5 in price, approximately.

Rising defaults and delinquencies effectively shut down the subprime and jumbo mortgage markets last summer, but borrowers with good credit could still get conventional loans that met the agencies’ criteria. Up until recently FNMA & FHLMC were fine, because investors continued to buy their securities due to the implicit guarantee. But then they went and lost a combined $6 billion in the fourth quarter as defaults rose. Darn. And when the size of the mortgages Fannie and Freddie can guarantee to as much as $729,750 was temporarily raised, the market got even more spooked: can they handle/guarantee this new block of business? Stay tuned…

Last week new appraisal standards were announced, reminding mortgage brokers why they might prefer to be with a mortgage bank like RPM. Now, speaking at the National Press Club, Treasury Secretary Paulson had some recommendations concerning the mortgage brokerage business. For all the details on this thoughts, see http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080313/bs_nm/paulson_dc_4 Thank you Marc L.!

A few days ago Wells Fargo sent word out that they will begin accepting the new loan limits on Monday for FHA, FNMA, and FHLMC. “Wells Fargo will accept the higher temporary FHA loan limits, beginning March 17, 2008, with additional requirements that will be announced in a future communication. The loan limits for this program are based on the median house pric