It's been a crazy day today; however, that sort of follows what we saw yesterday.  Bonds skyrocketed yesterday, pushing rates lower and blowing through that 50 day moving average that kept rates steady for the past few weeks.

You know that part of a Chicago summer where an obnoxious front just settles over Chicago, it's warm, it's hazy, and the ozone is out of control?  That's what the 50 day moving average did over the mortgage market for a few weeks.

What we're seeing now is that 'breakout' from resistance and it's every bit as volatile in the market as the storms that would follow a stagnant front like that.

Bonds are all over the place today.  They were up on open, but now Oil is back up to $120. Initial jobless claims are now at the levels of the 2001 recession.

Mortgage Rates could very easily reverse after yesterday's rally.  The Freddie Mac weekly rate survey will be out today and it should break off that 6.52% fixed rate (paying .7% in points) that the average lender was reporting for almost two weeks.

We're expecting big changes in the City of Chicago Mortgage Program after the current allocations are completely exhausted.  If you are looking at purchasing now, check this 4% grant program first.  It is likely the last time that we'll see a program like this for a while.

Also, IHDA Illinois' program still has a decent rate, flexible underwriting, and does include a 1% grant option.