First Cal Mortgage is the #1 lender in Clark County for Hardest Hit Funds HARP refinances, yet only the top 20th lender in the area, a true testament to our aggressive menu of products and commitment to pass on pure agency products to the consumer.
Financial Markets
The Dow closed at 14,565 on Friday, up 11.5% from the same time last year, but down slightly for the day on the heels of a disappointing unemployment report. Unemployment actually dropped from 7.7% to 7.6%, but the job market only grew by 88,000 jobs. This is down from 268,000 jobs created for the month of February. Economists typically like to see 200,000 to 400,000 jobs created monthly to consider strong economic growth.
Rarely do we get “the best of both worlds” and typically when the stock market surges, bond market sells off causing mortgage interest rates to rise, but over the past month, we have watched rates drop along with rising stock prices. The FNMA 3.0 coupon has improved over 150 bps over the past month. This loosely translates into a .25% to .375% improvement in the 30 yr fixed mortgage to the consumer.
Southern Nevada Real Estate Related Data
According to the CoreLogic, sited in the article below, home prices rose 10.2% for the month of February, nationwide, as compared to February 2012, the largest gain since March of 2006…..Gulp….This marked the 12th consecutive month of appreciation, underscoring the strength of the housing recovery. Inventory shortage is not just in Nevada, nationwide, available homes have hit a 13 year low. Leading the way was Nevada, of course, logging a 19.3% annual gain.
Have a great week! For more real estate financing information, please visit my website: http://www.matthewtmaltese.com/home.html
