Another week has gone by with more than a few dour pronouncements about “the real estate market” as a whole—so future St. Cloud buyers and sellers were offered a pleasant break with the publication of authoritative Freddie Mac’s counter-narrative on Thursday. Freddie is the government-sponsored, publicly traded corporation founded to support the secondary mortgage market. “Freddie” is the moniker that shortens its actual name (“The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation”) into something that those of us who aren’t full-time financial analysts can identify as the entity that greases the wheels of the mortgage markets. It makes them work better.

At any rate, Freddie’s Thursday release summarized progress toward a less daunting mortgage environment. Its title (“Mortgage Rates Continue to Decrease”) said it all. Not only were the latest mortgage rates headed downward, but they were continuing in an ongoing direction: the very definition of a trend. It was one that was certain to provide “a much-needed boost to the housing market.”

Freddie’s pronouncements are based on its “Primary Mortgage Market Survey,” which is a proprietary survey it developed to measure rates throughout the country. That’s no minor feat since there are so many different reporting standards throughout our diverse nation. This week may mark the beginning of more accurate statistics from the PMMS as well. Last week was the debut of a number of alterations in the way it is compiled—most significantly, it is now based on the actual applications lenders file with Freddie, rather than summaries the lenders compile. In case that seems to reflect a certain lack of faith in the lenders’ attention to accurate reporting, Freddie itself didn’t comment (although sharp-eyed readers might notice that Freddie called the change “an enhancement”).

All in all, St. Cloud buyers and sellers had some favorable momentum to contemplate as the traditional busy season approaches. Call me when you’d like to explore the opportunities already at hand!

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