Market Analysis

The market for the Fannie Mae 5.50% Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) strengthened in the afternoon and we did not see updated rate sheets.  Barring a negative event on Monday morning we should see better rate sheets Monday morning.  Our strategy right now with borrowers who are closing within 45 days will be to watch the market carefully Monday am to look for signs that a rally in the bond market can gain steam.  It is important to be ready to lock immediately should the strengthening fizzle out. If you would like to be ready to lock with us, the first step is to be pre-approved. You can access a short application form at http://www.ironharbor.com/xSites/Mortgage/IronHarbor/Content/UploadedFiles/Iron%20Harbor%20Short%20Application.pdf .  Below is a 15 minute chart from Larry Baer's Market Alert system that tracks the day's trading on the Fannie 5.5% MBS. Above 0 is good.  Green bars represent improvement over the previous 15 minutes.  Red bars represent deterioration.  Blue bars represent flat activity.  Overall the market ended up 10/32 which typically would translate into approx .25 points points improvement in rate sheets (to closing costs, not to rate).  We saw approx .125 improvements flow through today to our rate sheets.