Below is an excerpt from the latest Market Trends newsletter. Sign up and receive it in your inbox Friday evening:

Hurricane Sandy invaded the eastern seaboard last week, causing unprecedented damage in New Jersey, New York and states up and down the coast. Millions remain without power or basic services, and finding fuel and staying warm even a week later remains a challenge for many. Simply getting to and from anywhere without delay or detour is nearly impossible. Financial markets closed early in advance of the storm and for a time afterward and things remain far from normal in New York City, the financial capital of the United States.

Couple this event with a presidential election just a day away, and it’s fair to say that a small move in mortgage rates probably isn’t at the top of anyone’s mind. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a year to go before the next presidential election, but already a leading issue among voters is fairly obvious: the housing crisis.

A new survey by Move,Inc. shows that almost 70 percent of all voters said housing will be an “important consideration” in the next election. The survey found that: Read the rest of this entry »

HSH’s latest issue of its Market Trends Newsletter, “Mortgage Markets, Election Aftermath,” discusses the election’s influence on the movement of last week’s mortgage rates. As the Fed pondered loans for the auto industry, factory orders and manufacturing activity declined, yet despite job cuts worker productivity increased:

In the weeks leading up to the election, mortgage rates bounced higher and lower by unusually large amounts on a week to week basis. This week was a little different, in that the size of the up and down stroke diminished somewhat. Swings in rates have been up 40 basis points, down 37, up 34 again and down again this week. Perhaps we are trending back toward a more stable period.

Read the rest of this entry »