Allow me to introduce Brandon Nicely, branch partner in Alcova Mortgage here in Blacksburg.  The mortgage industry is literally changing on a daily – and sometimes hourly basis – and Brandon’s going to be bringing us the straight talk on what’s really going on in the industry, what’s happening with rates, and what to expect going forward.  And we’re going to hold him to every word, it’s as good as gold!  Okay … we’ll give him a little leeway.

He’ll be posting things here on the blog from time to time, if there’s something you want to know, email me and it’ll be passed along!  What should we call this series of posts?  Some NRVLiving swag for the winning entry!

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The Federal Reserve was at it again last week making some big decisions for the future of home loan rates. The Federal Reserve made the announcement that there would not be any additional buying of mortgage backed securities past the first quarter of 2010. There had been speculation about the Fed increasing the purchases of Mortgage Backed Securities, but the meeting last week confirmed there will not be any more purchases of securities.

So what does all this Federal Reserve stuff mean and why is it important?

These statements by the FED means interest rates will climb between now and the first quarter of 2010. This will put us back in a normal market where the Federal Reserve is not buying securities to keep rates down. Rate increases will most likely climb above 6% but hopefully stay in the 6-7% range.

With some more positive news from the Housing industry inventory from unsold existing homes fell to lowest level since April of 2007 and existing home sales reports continue to show signs of improvement.

Don’t forget first time homebuyer tax credit will expire November 30th.

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Brandon is a branch partner at Alcova Mortgage.  He enjoys doing his taxes, firewalking and competitive eating, but not necessarily in that order.  You can reach him at brandon@alcovamortgage.com, or 877-552-7150.