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Last week, a ranking Fed official delivered a “wait-and-see” speech on inflation and that roiled the mortgage markets plenty.

After sitting in a tight range for Monday through Wednesday, rates exploded higher Thursday as markets abruptly changed their expectations of growth for the rest of 2007.

Despite weak housing numbers, employment and consumer [...]

So much for market calm.

The mortgage market tanked yesterday when, in response to conflicting data about growth and inflation, San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen said “watchful waiting” is the Fed’s likely next step.

This surprised markets because most expect the Fed to lower the Fed Funds Rate within the next few [...]

Mortgage rates have been fairly lazy this week, reaching a near flatline. Even the much-talked about housing data didn’t do much to unperch markets from their current levels.

This afternoon, Fed officials Yellen, Fisher, and Mishkin each speak to the public in separate appearances. If data can’t move mortgage rates, perhaps opinion can. [...]

According to all of the headlines, existing home sales are down across the country. Way down. Check out this sampling:

Sales of Existing Homes Plunge Steeply (NY Times)
Existing Home Sales Plunge In March (Houston Chronicle)
Existing Home Sales Plunge, Biggest Retreat In 18 Years (Salt Lake Tribune)

However, it’s important to keep these statistics in perspective. [...]

The appraisal of a home can be a bit frightening. After buyer and seller have agreed on a price and signed a contract, a mortgage lender will send an independent professional to verify that the price is “reasonable” and fair.

The appraisal process begins with a licensed appraiser making a thorough inspection of the home, [...]

The economy showed signs of pushing forward last week, but major pressure on the average American consumer surfaced in the form of rising gas prices.

Overall, it was a mixed bag for mortgage markets.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.6% last month. This cost of living increase was much larger than expected and [...]

Gas prices are entering a very similar pattern to 2006 across the United States and — while it’s bad news for motorists — it could be bad news for mortgage rate shoppers, too.

Last summer, gas prices averaged more than $3.00 per gallon for three main reasons:

Fear of supply reduction from the Middle East
Fear of a [...]

When home prices are stable or falling, home buyers often mischaracterized their downpayment on a home, calling it their “cushion” against falling home prices.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Nobody wants to owe money when they sell their home. In fact, when asked, most people will answer that they just want to “break even” [...]

Up and down. Up and down. Up and down.

It’s been a veritable roller coaster over the past two weeks for mortgage rates, mostly because traders can’t find the answer to the most important question facing mortgage markets:

Are in the midst of inflation, or not?

Everytime we see strong data in one sector of the [...]

If the data is correct, the U.S. consumers keep doing what they do best — consume.

Despite weak consumer confidence surveys, retail sales posted a 0.7% gain, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This means that despite rising costs, Americans continue to fuel the economy.

Speaking of fuel, a large reason for the unexpectedly large figure [...]