Treasury Silence Freaks out Housing Market

(MoneyWatch)  Q: What's up with mortgage rates? Didn't they just move again after an unprecedented one week run-up?
A: Yes, they did. "Up" is definitely the key word here.

My sources say that not in their memories (and some of my sources, may they forgive my saying so, are pretty old) have rates risen so much so quickly. If you want to look at the chart, here's Bloomberg.com's tracking of MtgeFncl.

That last little uptick may not look so dreadful from the context of the entire chart -- sub-6 percent rates are still historically pretty wonderful. However, another way to look at it is that since last autumn, when the economy fell in the tank, rates have climbed halfway back.

Normally that would mean economic recovery. Let's see, what else has happened since last fall? Oh yes, the U.S. government owns General Motors now.

The market is waiting for some sort of Federal Reserve pronouncement that they'll step in and make it all better, but so far, nothing. Elizabeth Capo McCormick and Dakin Campbell, also at Bloomberg, give an understandable explanation of the current hard times.

Just to show that Bloomberg media isn't the only thing I read (although, full disclosure, he's also my mayor), I am keeping an eye on the Mortgage Bankers Association Web site. The MBA's weekly survey of Mortgage Applications comes out Wednesday, but dollars to doughnuts, it is going to be down.

We can only hope that the same happens to rates. Hubby and I are personally writhing in the vise between contract and close, where our effective price on the new place has jumped 20 percent. Did I mention that this was all in the past few days?

I am trying to keep myself distracted with happy thoughts -- for example, business might be picking up by an eyelash -- but it's tough. If only Bloomberg put out a comic strip . . .