As I have discussed in previous blogs, we are reading in the newspapers and hearing on TV, stories about the mortgage industry meltdown.  I have been addressing the question - How does this effect the Oregon home mortgage market and the average mortgage lender Portland relies upon?

I always try to stay calm and analytical about these things.  After all, the Oregon home mortgage market is always in flux.  And if you have been at it for as long as I have, a little ‘meltdown’ now and again is the norm.

But today I have to admit, things caught me off guard. Every morning I receive e-mails from dozens of our major wholesale lenders that contain that day’s interest rates and costs.  These rate sheet generally run from 5 to 9 pages, depending on the number of loan programs the lender offers.  I opened the rate sheet for one of my preferred lenders that normally has 5 pages of rates.  Today it only had two pages.  What a screw up, I thought.  So then, I opened another lender’s rate sheets.  They normally run 7 pages.  I looked at the first two pages but pages 3-6 were blank!  Whoa.  This is not good news.  I continued reviewing other rate sheets.  Some seemed unchanged.  But many, including some coming from major banks and wholesalers, were no longer quoting many mortgage programs they had offered for years.

What is happening indeed!  It clearly will have a negative effect the Oregon home mortgage market and will limit the number of loan options all mortgage lenders Portland relies upon.  Fortunately, you still can find everything you need at www.OregonsBestMortgage.com