Open Houses Sunday September 29
Here are this weekend’s Open Houses (an updated list for Sunday will be posted tomorrow at 8 a.m.*):
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House
(more…)
Open Houses weekend September 28/29
Here are this weekend’s Open Houses (an updated list for Sunday will be posted tomorrow at 8 a.m.*):
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House
(more…)
New Listings, Inventory, week ending September 27
Here are the latest New Listings:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead New Listings
Swampscott New Listings
Salem New Listings
Beverly New Listings
Here are the latest inventory numbers:
And read these recent articles:
What drives Mortgage Rates – and no it’s not the Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve’s new buzzword: Recalibrate
Federal Reserve Chair Powell:”The Time has Come”
Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
The Federal Reserve’s Analysis Paralysis
July Housing Inventory and H1 Sales to List Price
Marblehead Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Swampscott Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Salem Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review: Town by Town Guide
My Property Tax reports mentioned at Town Meeting
(more…)
What drives Mortgage Rates – and no it’s not the Federal Reserve
I am always astonished by the number of reports I read, before and after the Federal Reserve (Fed) makes a change in its interest rate, about the effect such a change will have on mortgage rates.
No doubt it came as a surprise to those writers when there was virtually no change in the Freddie Mac weekly survey of mortgage rates this week.
Myth
“Mortgage rates react to the Fed.”
Look at this chart for the last year:
The FFR rate was unchanged at 5.5% for over a year until last week, but during that time frame the FRM varied between a high of almost 7.8% last October and a low of just over 6% last week before the Fed cut its inetrest rate by 0.5%.(The Freddie Mac survey takes place from Monday-Wednesday each week, so the 6.09% reported on September 19 reflected rates before the Fed cut its interest rate).
What happened after the Fed cut rates?
Precious little. The rate before the Fed cut rates was 6.09% and afterwards…. 6.08%.
In simple terms, there is no correlation or link between the Fed’s interest rates and the rate on 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgages.
What does determine Mortgage Rates? (more…)
New Listings, Inventory, September 25
Here are the latest New Listings:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead New Listings
Swampscott New Listings
Salem New Listings
Beverly New Listings
Here are the latest inventory numbers:
And read these recent articles:
The Federal Reserve’s new buzzword: Recalibrate
Federal Reserve Chair Powell:”The Time has Come”
Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
The Federal Reserve’s Analysis Paralysis
July Housing Inventory and H1 Sales to List Price
Marblehead Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Swampscott Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Salem Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review: Town by Town Guide
My Property Tax reports mentioned at Town Meeting
(more…)
Open Houses Sunday September 22
Here are today’s Open Houses:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House
(more…)
New Listings, Inventory, week ending September 20
Here are the latest New Listings:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead New Listings
Swampscott New Listings
Salem New Listings
Beverly New Listings
Here are the latest inventory numbers:
And read these recent articles:
The Federal Reserve’s new buzzword: Recalibrate
Federal Reserve Chair Powell:”The Time has Come”
Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
The Federal Reserve’s Analysis Paralysis
July Housing Inventory and H1 Sales to List Price
Marblehead Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Swampscott Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Salem Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review: Town by Town Guide
My Property Tax reports mentioned at Town Meeting
(more…)
Open Houses weekend September 21/22
Here are this weekend’s Open Houses (an updated list for Sunday will be posted tomorrow at 8 a.m.*):
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House
(more…)
The Federal Reserve’s new buzzword: Recalibrate
At Wednesday’s press conference after the Fed – finally – cut rates by 50 basis points (bp)(0.5%) – Fed Chair Powell introduced a new phrase to explain their action: “recalibrate.”
We have been through “transient inflation”; “data dependent”; “higher for longer”; and “data-dependent, not data point dependent” and have reached “recalibrate”.
Chair Powell denied that they were playing catch up because they waited too long to start cutting rates (they are, and they did).
Frankly, after their slow and deliberate approach this year, I expected only 25 bp. BUT…the next meeting is not until November 6, the day after the Election. And who knows what the environment will be on that date? It is certainly not out of the question that there will be a lack of clarity about the outcome. And while the Fed states that it not influenced by political considerations, they will naturally be aware of an environment which may well make it difficult for them to make an accurate forecast of the future.
So 50 bp now is “not a catch up” – but it would have been more consistent – and raised fewer questions – if they had cut 25 bp in July and a further 25 bp now.
Mortgage rates
I will update my 2023 article Why Mortgage Rates will fall in 2024 in the next few days. In that article I predicted that the 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) would drop below 6% by the end of 2024. I also explained why mortgage rates do not follow the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions, but are market driven based on the yield of the 10-year Treasury.
And to make to make that point more clearly: in both Massachusetts and Florida it is already possible to get FRMs for 5.5%, a sharp drop from from earlier in the year.
Also read:
The Federal Reserve’s Analysis Paralysis
Federal Reserve Chair Powell:”The Time has Come”
New Listings, Inventory, September 18
Here are the latest New Listings:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead New Listings
Swampscott New Listings
Salem New Listings
Beverly New Listings
Here are the latest inventory numbers:
And read these recent articles:
Federal Reserve Chair Powell:”The Time has Come”
Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
The Federal Reserve’s Analysis Paralysis
July Housing Inventory and H1 Sales to List Price
Marblehead Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Swampscott Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Salem Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review: Town by Town Guide
My Property Tax reports mentioned at Town Meeting
(more…)
Open Houses Sunday September 15
Here are today’s Open Houses:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House
(more…)
Open Houses weekend September 14/15
Here are this weekend’s Open Houses (an updated list for Sunday will be posted tomorrow at 8 a.m.*):
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House
(more…)
New Listings, Inventory, week ending September 13
Here are the latest New Listings:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead New Listings
Swampscott New Listings
Salem New Listings
Beverly New Listings
Here are the latest inventory numbers:
And read these recent articles:
Federal Reserve Chair Powell:”The Time has Come”
Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
The Federal Reserve’s Analysis Paralysis
July Housing Inventory and H1 Sales to List Price
Marblehead Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Swampscott Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Salem Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review: Town by Town Guide
My Property Tax reports mentioned at Town Meeting
(more…)
New Listings, Inventory, September 11
Here are the latest New Listings:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead New Listings
Swampscott New Listings
Salem New Listings
Beverly New Listings
Here are the latest inventory numbers:
And read these recent articles:
Federal Reserve Chair Powell:”The Time has Come”
Earth to Federal Reserve: What are you waiting for?
The Federal Reserve’s Analysis Paralysis
July Housing Inventory and H1 Sales to List Price
Marblehead Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Swampscott Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Salem Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review
Essex County Mid-Year 2024 Market Review: Town by Town Guide
My Property Tax reports mentioned at Town Meeting
(more…)
Open Houses Sunday September 8
Here are today’s Open Houses:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House
(more…)
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