Income Tax Change and Mortgage Rate Changes

Hello Everybody!

As many of you know, the U.S. Senate passed a revised homebuyer tax credit yesterday. I want to be sure that you realize that this move is not final. This is part of President Obama's $900 (or so) Billion stimulus package. The rest of the stimulus package has to be decided upon, and then the bill goes to the House for its vote on the measure. There is hope that the Senate can hammer out the rest of the plan by tomorrow, and it can head to the house next week. Then it's on to President Obama's desk for his signature. Few details of the plan have been released. It looks like it will not be repayable, is not limited to first time homebuyers and may include some purchases from 2008. I will give you more details when they become available!

Bank of England -

Today, the Bank of England dropped it's overnight rate to 1% - its lowest level since 1694 (315 years ago). This was also the year that the Bank of England was formed, and the year that Queen Mary II died of smallpox at age 32. Surely we all remember how bad the economy was back then, and how things really turned around after rates hit the 1% level!

Mind the Gap -

While the Bank of England is across the pond, this could prove to be beneficial for our rates, as it lessens the gap between rates abroad and our own rates here!

Have a great day!