Freddie Mac reports that mortgage rates slipped this past week, dropping to 6.35% in the week ending Thursday, down from last week’s 6.40% and the year-ago 6.46%.  Stability in the market right now is not the catch phrase as we would wish it to be.  These numbers are based the national average interest rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed rate loan.  The 15-year fixed-rate loan averaged 5.90%, down from the week ago 5.93% and the year-ago 6.15%.  Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, had this to say - “Mortgage rates eased a bit over the holiday-shortened week following release of economic data that suggest consumer spending may slow.  The economy grew at an upwardly revised 3.3% pace in the second quarter, boosted by the smallest trade deficit in eight years, and residential fixed investment slowed growth by 0.6%, the least amount since the same period a year ago.”

The news tells me that even those with good credit records are facing repossession, both here and abroad, especially in the UK.  I feel we still see no bottom in the market yet, and it will drag on well after the election.  I have watched both the Democratic and Republican convention coverage on NBC, yet have seen little to bolster consumer confidence in the mortgage market.  “Drill, baby drill” seems to be the current favorite slogan, and dependence on fossil duels is our least major concern right now.  The market must stabilize before the country can move forward in any realistic way.  People are not only fighting to keep food on the table and gas in the family car, but are have the main concern about keeping a roof over their head.

In discussions with members of my community, I hear the same complaint - people owe much more on their homes than they are worth, regardless if they have take out home equity lines of credit for toys and vacations.  Although that may be an unsafe practice in any market, the fact remains that people are really hurting.  I hear accounts daily about job loss and cutbacks in hours.  ABC Warehouse is destined to close stores, and this is only scratching the surface of the economic picture.

Regardless of who wins the election in November, they will be faced with the momentous task of putting this country back together financially.  There appear to be no “quick fix” in the immediate future.  How any President, no matter how good he is, and how much support he can get from Congress, cannot fix the problems facing this country over night.  And that is the pity of it all…