The Fed has once again this week made a .25% cut in the federal funds rate to stimulate confidence and liquidity in the secondary mortgage market, but jumbo loans are likely to stay higher than conforming loans for a while.  These things take time to work out.  By Febuary 2008 we are likely to see the end of mortgage loan qualifications based only on interest only, shifting to qualifications based on fully amortized loans.  So from certain points of view, it is still a good time to buy a home and you can refinance in 2008 if the rates go down.

Several banks are now posting 4th Quarter write-offs to focus the bad news all at once, which likely means the 1st Quarter of 2008 should see a sorting out of the lender profit picture and stock prices.

Meanwhile the US Senate overwhelmingly just passed a bill to aid hundreds of thousands of Americans facing foreclosure because of balooning interest rates on sub-prime loans.

Overall, the nation’s mortgage lending woes does not seem to have impacted continued strong demand in the Saratoga market.