Bryant Surety Bonds will be closed on Thursday, July 3rd for Independence Day Weekend; we will return on Monday, July 5th.  We hope you all have a safe and pleasant holiday. While we are closed, please explore our website for information on surety bonds, and when you are ready, use our free online application.  We look forward to quickly responding to your needs when we return.

 Mortgage applications for the week ended June 20 dropped 9.3%, the lowest since December 28, 2001.

Borrowing for a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.39% in last week, down 0.18 percentage points from the previous week, this is also below the average 6.60% of a year ago.

Though down slightly from a week ago, mortgage rates remained above 6% for the 3rd consecutive week according to Freddie Mac.  The Mortgage giant reported that 30 year mortgages average 6.05% this week, down .01% from last.

More bad news for mortgage brokers and bankers as The Commerce Department reported today that new homes sales dropped 8.5% last month, representing the lowest level (slowest pace) in over 16 years.  On top of this came news that the median price of new home sales dropped by the largest amount in almost 4 decades, the drop was 13.3% from a year ago.

Mortgage brokers looking to expand into new territories in hope of bumping revenue should take a look at our state by state mortgage broker licensing guidelines.  We have just added a few new states: Oregon mortgage broker bond, Pennsylvania mortgage broker bonds, and for South Carolina mortgage brokers.

The median price homes sold in March dropped to $200,700, a decline of 7.7% from the median price in March 2007. The National Association of Realtors revealed today that sales of existing single-family homes (including condos) also dropped 2%.

Bryant Surety Bonds also wants to make mortgage brokers aware that additional states have been added to our state licensing guide.  The new states are for Georgia mortgage brokers, New York mortgage brokers, North Carolina mortgage brokers, and Ohio mortgage brokers.

Bryant Surety Bonds is proud to unveil our state by state mortgage broker licensing guide.  Because each state has its own laws and regulations, it is our hope that this guide will make it easier for mortgage brokers to know what they need to do to qualify for licensing in a new state.

Currently we have guides up for Alabama Mortgage Brokers, Alaska Mortgage Brokers, Arizona Mortgage Brokers, Arkansas Mortgage Brokers, Florida Mortgage Brokers, and New Jersey Mortgage Brokers.  We will be adding to this list all the time, and will update you when new states become available.

Bryant Surety Bonds, Inc will be closed on Friday March 21, 2008.

Please explore our website to learn all about the Surety Industry, along with surety bond information by business type.

Also be sure to fill out an surety bond application, it is easy to do as everything can be completed online, and instant quotes are available.

For the first time since the week of Feburary 14 mortgage rates dropped to below 6%. 

According to Freddie Mac, rates averaged 5.87% for 30 year loans, down from 6.13% last week.

Other mortgages also fell this week:

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, averaged 5.27%, down from 5.60%.

For five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, rates dipped to 5.56%, compared with 5.58%.

Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages were the only category to show an increase, edging up to 5.15%, compared with 5.14%.

The numbers are in for the 2007 housing market, confirming what what was already known, it was not a good year for to be a mortgage broker, or mortgage banker.

 Sales of existing homes fell 2.2% in December, and for the year ended down 13%.  This marks the largest drop in 25 years.  Prices also fell in 2007, median pricing dropped 1.8% (to $217,000), the first time this has happened in 40 years.

The average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 5.31 percent today.  This rate marks the lowest it has been since March 2004 when the Fed’s benchmark rate was 1 percent.

Mortgage applications in the U.S. jumped to an almost four-year high last week, but applicants will face many more hurdles in obtaining their loan then they had in years past.  40% of banks have tighten their underwriting policies in the 3rd quarter, 2007.  This means mortgage brokers will expect good credit, pay stubs and tax documents with you application.