With all of the bad news being thrown at us, here is a little glimmer of positivity...turn off the news and just look up what you need to know and try not to get depressed, we will get through this sooner than later.
In the last few weeks, there has been a lot of volatility in the markets- stock markets which in turn direct our mortgage rates via the 5 and 10 year Treasury, we watch the stock markets react to the current news and go up and down drastically. Trying to time my IRA contribution or buying a great stock on sale is like trying to catch a falling knife. Well, this week we have seen 3 consecutive days on the upswing, finishing over 22,500 today on the Dow Jones Industrial, 7,797 on the Nasdaq and 2,630 on the S & P. Expect even more volatility in the coming days as we wade through flattening the curve and improve our social distancing efforts. This was a difficult time to orchestrate social distancing with half of the populations in the US on Spring Break all over the world. It is no surprise we are seeing an increase in the number of cases locally as well as nationally for this reason, not to mention the teenagers who deplore being told to stay in their rooms and watch tv or play video games.
The mortgage rates are also equally volatile, but fluctuating in a lower range than we've seen in the last year or so. Today, according to Bankrate, "The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell this week to 3.75 percent and the 10-year Treasury has plunged back below 1 percent, which means fixed-rate mortgages may also trend down in the days to come." Check out our mortgage rates website page here.
If you are thinking about waiting to purchase property, that is completely understandable. However, from all indications, unless this drags on for months...our real estate market will not be permanently affected by the quarantine. We have examined the difference between the 2008-2010 downturn and the current situation. The previous was economic and the current is a global pandemic that will temporarily affect the economy. The Senate just passed the Stimulus Package to aid as many as possible, "In a remarkable sign of overwhelming bipartisan support for the legislation, the vote was unanimous at 96-0" according to a CNN article.
"Key elements of the proposal are $250 billion set aside for direct payments to individuals and families, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies. Under the plan, individuals who earn $75,000 in adjusted gross income or less would get direct payments of $1,200 each, with married couples earning up to $150,000 receiving $2,400 -- and an additional $500 per each child. The payment would scale down by income, phasing out entirely at $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for couples without children.
Posted by PollyAnna Snyder on
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