So, what are mortgage rates doing, these days? Where are they at? These questions, or similar questions are asked of me occasionally by friends, acquaintances, or strangers who learn in casual conversation that I’m a real estate professional. The answers to these questions used to be clear-cut, not too long ago, because lenders would issue a rate sheet at the beginning of a week, and that rate would be valid for the rest of the week. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for mortgage brokers to see multiple lender rate sheets per DAY.

Why is this important to know? It’s not, unless you’re in the market to purchase real estate. More specifically, it is extremely important, if your mortgage application has already been approved, and the only thing your lender is waiting for, is your decision to lock in an interest rate for the mortgage that you’re approved for. But with multiple rate sheets being issued daily, how do you know when to lock in your rate? The short answer is, you can’t possibly know, as locking in your interest rate is almost like gambling in Las Vegas. I say almost, because even though you can’t possibly time a bottom for your rate, the mortgage market provides one with clues about the future movement of mortgage interest rates. If you work with a mortgage broker, he/she almost certainly monitors this market in real-time, anticipating rising or declining rates. But do they timely communicate this information to their clients (you)?

One of the mortgage pros that I work with is Dan Green with Waterstone Mortgage. As a mortgage planner/mortgage broker, Dan and his team use Twitter to disseminate information about the mortgage market. As a Twitter user, I happen to follow a number of other “Twitterati”, including Dan, but Dan’s “tweets” (messages, updates) are thus far the only ones that are being forwarded directly to my mobile phone, in the form of alerts. In other words, if you asked me, in passing, what mortgage rates are doing, I might give you one answer in the morning while we stand in line at Starbucks, and another one in the afternoon, when we bump into each other, at a gas station. Based, of course, on Dan’s Twitter updates. Does your mortgage broker keep you in the “loop”? Below, are a couple of screenshots from my Blackberry Storm that show Dan’s mortgage market updates throughout the day, for several days. You can follow Dan Green on Twitter at @mortgagereports.

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