According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications rose another 7.5 percent last week compared to the previous week.

This increase was due in part to a rush to refinance when the Federal Reserve cut rates by three-quarters of a percent as a response to recession fears. The refinance share of last week’s mortgage activity was 73 percent, up from 60 percent the previous week.

Mortgage rates rose:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.6 percent from 5.49 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.04 percent from 4.96 percent.
• 1-year ARMs increased to 5.7 percent from 5.51 percent.

We are seeing a lot of our past clients in McKinney, Plano and Frisco refinancing their homes. We have also seen an incredible increase in website traffic with people looking for homes in the Flower Mound and Grapevine area as well as in the North Dallas areas.

If you are interested in purchasing a home in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex please call us at 800-326-9011. If you are interested in refinancing your home or would like to get pre-approved for a new home, fill out our secure online mortgage application for a free pre-approval.

In my last post, Good News for Home Buyers, I talked about how the Fed continuously lowering rates was something to get excited about. I didn’t mean to leave out home owners and home sellers. I believe it’s reason to celebrate for everyone in Dallas Fort Worth!

It’s true that we haven’t seen the pain in Dallas Fort Worth like the rest of the U.S. has but still, the news headlines can scare anyone into remission. With the latest fed cut, real estate analysts are expecting improvements in home sales across the U.S. I have already seen a sizable increase in home buyers visiting the home search feature on our real estate website.

For home sellers, this is great news for multiple obvious reasons. First, lower interest rates means more home buyers that can get approved to buy your home. More home buyers mean competition which equals increased sales prices (hint for home buyers, if you wait, prices will be going up, not down so act now). That is great news for anyone that has their home on the market.

Even for home owners not interested in selling, this is great news for you too! With mortgage rates at a low, this is a great time to refinance and get out of a high interest rate loan or an adjustable rate mortgage. You can easily get approved with our preferred lender Texas Mortgage Team.

Like lowering taxes, lowering interest rates will boost the economy. More money in the consumer’s pocket equals greater consumer confidence which equals more spending that in turn improves the economy. Don’t you just love economics?

Best of luck in selling your home… but in case you want more than luck in selling your home in DFW and are looking for an agent that will market your home the right way, please contact me at 800.326.9011 or email me here. Thank you.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday in minutes from its latest meeting that more interest rate cuts might be needed if the deterioration in the credit markets leads to deeper problems for the housing sector and overall economy.

The central bank lowered its key federal funds rate - an overnight bank lending rate that affects how much consumers pay for various types of debt, including credit cards, home equity lines of credit and auto loans - by a quarter of a percentage point on Dec. 11 to 4.25 percent.

That marked the Fed’s third consecutive rate cut since September as the central bank attempts to deal with the subprime mortgage meltdown, which has caused cash-strapped consumers to default on their loans and banks to report billions of dollars in losses tied to bets on bad mortgages.

In the minutes, the Fed said that “some members noted the risk of an unfavorable feedback loop in which credit market conditions restrained economic growth further, leading to additional tightening of credit” and added that “such an adverse development could require a substantial further easing of policy.”

As such, traders are now betting that a rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting, a two-day session that concludes on Jan. 30, is certain. The question is simply how big of a cut it will be.

As of today, Wednesday January 2nd, we are already seeing some movement in the rates. The bond market is up and that has driven the 30 year interest rate back down into the 5’s. If you would like to take advantage of historically low rates, call me.

Craig Pollard is a mortgage professional and owner of Texas Mortgage Team. He specializes in the Dallas Fort Worth area and is a frequent voice on Texas Home Central’s blog. Craig can be reached at CPollard@Texasmt.com or 972-317-9900

As expected, the Federal Reserve cut rates yesterday. The .25% decrease in the rate was not enough for some investors, who were betting on a .50% cut in light of the current state of the financial markets. Initially that cut drove mortgage rates slightly down on Tuesday. However, the announcement today that the Fed has entered into a deal with European, England, Canadian, and Swiss Central banks to create a temporary auction facility to keep banks funded has really driven the stock market back up, which is causing mortgage rates to hold steady.

Another direct result of the credit crunch has been the implosion of several (as of December 12th) lenders who have closed their doors. A majority of these closures have been smaller regional resellers-people who fund the loan and sell it on the mortgage market. The rest of the closed lenders have been large subprime offices and in some cases large national banks.

Thankfully most of the lenders that are gone were not someone we had in our portfolio to originate loans to. On the other spectrum, I have several lenders doing good business that are EXPANDING! I say all of this to prove a point-if you walk into a bank you most likely have 1 product and 1 underwriting system. As a broker, I have NUMEROUS products and 40-50 different underwriters I can work with, which means I can find the BEST fit, unlike a bank where they give you their ONLY fit.

If you are looking for someone who is plugged into the market and can find the best loan for YOUR situation, not theirs, give Texas Mortgage Team a call -you will be glad you did.

The Federal Reserve dropped the federal funds rate by one-quarter point to 4.25 percent. The rate reduction is the third this year. The Fed also lowered its lending rates to banks by one-quarter-percentage point to 4.75 percent. That was the fourth cut to the discount rate since mid-August. Both the funds rate and the prime rate are now at their lowest levels in nearly two years.

Craig Pollard is a mortgage professional and owner of Texas Mortgage Team. He specializes in the Dallas Fort Worth area and is a frequent voice on Texas Home Central’s blog. Craig can be reached at CPollard@Texasmt.com or 972-317-9900

As you may have read, the Fed has been cutting the Fed Funds rate, which is the rate that the banks are able to buy money at. What does this mean to you as a consumer?

As history has shown, a lower FF rate has meant lower mortgage rates. When we got to the office yesterday morning, 30 year fixed rates were .25% LOWER than they were on Friday! That means that right now that if you qualify, you can get a rate in the 5’s on a 30 year-the 15 year fixed rate actually flirted with 4.875%!!! for a little bit. In fact, you could probably still get that rate with by paying a small discount fee to the lender!

If rates continue to go this way, I think we may be in for a refi boom-not on the grand scale of 2003/2004 but it would be an opportunity for people that missed out the first time, as well as people that are in ARM’s to move into a fixed rate.

As always, if you want to discuss your situation, please feel free to contact me. Have a great week!

Craig Pollard is a mortgage professional and owner of Texas Mortgage Team. He specializes in the Dallas Fort Worth area and is a frequent voice on Texas Home Central’s blog. Craig can be reached at CPollard@Texasmt.com or 972-317-9900