Rates dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent in December and have hovered around 5 percent since, kept down by a Federal Reserve campaign to stabilize the housing market by lowering mortgage rates.

The central bank's $1.25 trillion program to buy up mortgage securities issued by Freddie Mac and sibling companiy Fannie Mae is set to expire March 31. But the Fed has held the door open to extending the program if the economy weakens.

Some analysts argue that rates could rise once the Fed's program ends, hurting both the recovery in housing and the overall economy. But government officials are optimistic that the Fed will be able to end its program without a major disruption.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day, often in line with long-term Treasury bonds.

This week, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.32 percent, down from 4.33 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.05 percent, down from 4.11 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.22 percent from 4.27 percent.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.

The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac's survey averaged 0.7 of a point for 30-year and 15-year loans and 0.6 of a point for five-year and one-year loans.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.01 percent this week, up from 4.98 percent last week. Last year at this time, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.25 percent.

Rates fell to a record low of 4.71 percent set in early December. They've been held around 5 percent by a Federal Reserve program to pump $1.25 trillion into mortgage-backed securities to try to keep rates low and make home buying more affordable. That program is set to end March 31.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day, often in line with long-term Treasury bonds.

The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose slightly to 4.40 percent from 4.39 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.27 percent, up from 4.25 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages dropped to 4.22 percent from 4.29 percent.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac's survey averaged 0.7 point for 30-year and 15-year mortgages. It averaged 0.6 point for five-year loans and 0.5 point for one-year loans.

"From what we can tell, people are using cash and check cards more, which is a good sign," added Rob Saunders, a certified public accountant with Cunningham and Saunders in Blakely and a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

National studies show last year was the year for more green and less plastic. According to the National Retail Federation's 2009 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey conducted by BIGresearch, nearly four out of 10 (39.3 percent) used their debit or check cards most often. Fewer people, 30.9 percent, used credit cards in 2009 compared to 33.8 percent in 2008. More than one-quarter, 26 percent, have used cash and only 3.8 percent relied on checks.

"As expected, shoppers have shown tremendous restraint in buying gifts with the money they already have, not the money they hope to have," said Phil Rist, executive vice president, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch, a consumer market intelligence firm.

Relying less on credit for holiday purchases made consumers feel "more comfortable about their personal finances again and may make them more willing to spend in the future," he said.

Although the survey showed fewer people used credit cards as their preferred payment this past holiday season, a 3.5 percent spike in retail sales has undoubtedly led to consumer debt, according to the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs.

Meanwhile, charge-offs, loans a credit card company doesn't think it will collect, rose again in December, and cardholder payments slowed dramatically, according to global rating agency Fitch Ratings' latest credit card index.

For people who have racked up credit card bills over the holiday season and are now trying to manage their debt in 2010, Mr. Saunders recommended the first thing to do is "put yourself on a budget."

"The hard part about a budget is sitting down and doing it," he said. "Once you understand your cash flow, you really get a sense of cutting out discretionary things like going out to dinner and binge shopping. The biggest things we tell people when they put their budget together is to look for ways they can save and put that toward their credit card debt."

Mr. Saunders recommends when going shopping, leave the credit cards at home and pay with cash or check cards instead. Both Mr. Saunders and Mrs. Stocki suggest paying bills on time and avoid making just the minimum payments on credit card bills.

Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com Managing credit card debt

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northeastern Pennsylvania offered these tips on managing credit card debt:

- Pay bills on time. The best way to build credit is to pay your bills on time.

- Avoid making just the minimum payment. Try to pay more. The more you pay, the faster you will pay off the debt, and you will save money in interest.

- Keep your balances low, no more than 30 percent of your limit. The higher your balance is, the more of a risk you are to the credit card companies.

- Avoid opening new credit cards.

- Avoid hopping from one credit card to another.

- If you miss a payment, get current and stay current.

- Stay in touch with your creditors. Call them to try to work out other payment arrangements.

- Going forward, only charge what you know you can afford to pay off in full every month.

- Check your credit report regularly for errors.

- Don't be afraid to call for help. If you are struggling with credit card debt, call a reputable credit counseling agency. Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northeastern Pennsylvania can assist you with free budget counseling and a low-cost debt management program to help you get credit card debt under control. Call 800-922-9537 to schedule a free consultation.

Another member of the oversight panel, U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican and a critic of the bailout bill, called the mortgage program "a failure."

In a recent report, he said the administration's efforts "have assisted only a small number of homeowners while drawing billions of involuntary taxpayer dollars into a black hole." (Hensarling recently left the panel.)

The Treasury Department acknowledges that its program needs to do a better job of making hundreds of thousands of trial modifications permanent, but an official said the program is making progress and is on track to meet many of its goals.

"I think that if you go back and look at what we said we would do in February, we are on track to meet the president's goals," said Michael Barr, an assistant Treasury secretary who helps oversee the nation's main modification program. "We are not going to be able to prevent every foreclosure in the country."

More than 5 million mortgages have been caught in foreclosure proceedings since the economy began slipping in 2007, and an estimated 8 million to 13 million more could follow in the next five years. The Treasury's goal is to help modify 3 million to 4 million mortgages in three years, but only about 1 percent of that number have completed the process.

The Treasury program could spend as much as $75 billion helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. The program seeks to pay three parties - the company that services a loan, the bank or investor that owns the loan and the homeowner - if they rearrange the mortgage so the homeowner's monthly payment is more manageable.

One of the central problems, the administration and its critics agree, is the slow pace of finalizing the modifications it's started.

Under the program, mortgage servicers - companies that collect monthly mortgage checks and pay the bank, property tax and insurance - arrange the modifications.

Through November, the Treasury Department said that more than 3 million homeowners had been sent information on potential modifications, and that 1 million of them had been offered modifications.

Of those, 759,058 trial modifications have been started - but just 31,382 have been finalized into what Treasury calls "permanent modifications."

Part of that low conversion rate is to be expected because a modification's trial period is three months long. If a homeowner remains current on his or her payments and provides all the necessary documents, then the modification can become permanent. A trial modification that started in October, for example, wouldn't become permanent until January.

However, there have been those who don’t qualify for a home loan modification from CitiGroup, but there could still be mortgage assistance in the form of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage if a homeowner can gain a lower rate by refinancing.

Since interest rates are still low, but on the rise, anyone looking for mortgage assistance through refinancing for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, it’s a case of the sooner the better. If you wish to refinance, particularly for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, a low interest rate is what makes the difference seeing as how a higher rate may do little, if anything to help.

So, look for the best rate you can find for refinancing on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage if you are in need of mortgage assistance or a lower monthly mortgage payment.

Mortgage rates are near historic lows, and it's about to get harder to get a home loan.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 1 basis point, to 5.01 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.39 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.92 percent; four weeks ago, it was 5.35 percent.

The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 1 basis point, to 4.46 percent. That's the lowest in the 24-year history of Bankrate's weekly survey. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 2 basis points, to 4.52 percent. That's the lowest the 5/1 ARM rate has been since Bankrate started collecting rates on hybrid ARMs at the beginning of 2005.

Lately, about one in four new mortgages are insured by the Federal Housing Administration. FHA-insured mortgages have a distinct appeal: They require down payments (or equity) of as little as 3.5 percent. Because of foreclosures, the FHA has been paying more in mortgage insurance claims than it has been collecting in premiums. So the agency plans to make it harder and more expensive to get an FHA-insured loan.

Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, told the House Financial Services Committee that the FHA is considering several options:

* Increase the minimum down payment.
* Raise the insurance premiums that borrowers pay.
* Raise minimum credit scores to qualify for FHA insurance.
* Make buyers pay more of their own closing costs.

To qualify for an FHA-insured mortgage, a homebuyer has to make a down payment of at least 3.5 percent. A refinancer has to have equity of at least 3.5 percent of the appraised value. The 3.5 percent requirement was instituted at the beginning of this year; previously, the minimum was 3 percent. Now HUD is thinking about raising it again, for the same reason it did at the beginning of 2009: "to make sure that FHA borrowers have more skin in the game and a stronger equity position in their loans," as Donovan explained to the House panel.

This fall, a bill was introduced into the House that would raise the minimum FHA down payment to 5 percent. The Republican proposal met an icy reception from Democratic leaders. That's a reversal from the situation in spring 2007, when the Bush administration asked Congress to allow the FHA to insure no-down payment loans. Democrats balked at that proposal, too.
FHA managing risk
When a borrower gets FHA insurance, the policy is paid for in two pieces. First, there's an upfront premium of 1.75 percent, which is paid in a lump sum at closing. On a $100,000 loan, that would be $1,750, which can be rolled into the loan amount.

Then there's the annual premium of 0.5 percent or 0.55 percent of the loan amount, depending on the size of the down payment. This premium is paid monthly. On a $100,000 loan, it would amount $41.67 or $45.83 a month. Donovan said he wants Congress to give the FHA the authority to raise that annual premium for riskier borrowers.

The FHA requires a minimum credit score of 500 to qualify for its mortgage insurance. That doesn't matter much, because most lenders do have minimum credit scores for FHA-insured loans. A few lenders have a minimum credit score of 640 for FHA-insured loans; most have a minimum score of 620, and a few will approve FHA-insured loans with scores below that.

Now the FHA plans to require higher minimum credit scores to protect itself from the riskiest borrowers. Donovan hinted that this change might be temporary. In written testimony before Congress, he didn't specify what the minimum credit scores will be. He said FHA might require higher credit scores on lower down payments.

Finally, HUD wants FHA borrowers to take more responsibility for their own closing costs. Right now, the rules allow homesellers to pay closing costs equal to 6 percent of the home's price. The practice reduces the homebuyer's out-of-pocket costs. But it also "exposes the FHA to excess risk" by artificially inflating house prices, Donovan says. That's because sellers tend to hold firm to their asking prices, instead of negotiating lower prices, when they're going to pay the seller's closing costs.

Instead of allowing sellers to pay closing costs equal to 6 percent of the sale price, Donovan wants to cut that maximum to 3 percent. This would have an effect similar to that of requiring bigger down payments: Homebuyers would place more of their money at risk, and less of the FHA's money at risk.

This push was the latest evidence that a $75 billion taxpayer-financed effort aimed at stemming foreclosures was struggling. Even as lenders have accelerated the pace at which they are reducing mortgage payments for borrowers, most loans modified remain in a trial stage lasting up to five months, and only a tiny fraction have been made permanent.

The Treasury Department in its statement said that more than 650,000 borrowers have received trial modifications under the program, called Making Home Affordable, and that about 375,000 borrowers were scheduled to convert to permanent modifications by the end of the year. That would represent a sharp turnaround — last month, an oversight panel created by Congress reported that fewer than 2,000 of the 500,000 loan modifications then in progress had become permanent.

Phyllis Caldwell, the chief of the Treasury’s Homeownership Preservation Office, said the administration was refocusing efforts “to ensure that borrowers and servicers know what their responsibilities are in converting trial modifications to permanent ones.”

“The banks are not doing a good enough job,” Michael S. Barr, Treasury’s assistant secretary for financial institutions, said. “Some of the firms ought to be embarrassed, and they will be. We’re seeing a failure by some of the bigger banks on execution,” Mr. Barr said. “We’re going to be quite focused and direct on particular institutions that are not doing a good job.”

From its inception early this year, the administration’s program has been dogged by persistent questions about whether it could diminish a swelling wave of foreclosures. Some economists argued that the plan was built for last year’s problem exotic mortgages whose payments increased — and not for the current menace of soaring joblessness.

Though the program was initially proclaimed as a means of sparing three to four million households from foreclosure, “they’re going to be lucky if they save one or one-and-a-half million,” said Edward Pinto, a consultant to the real estate finance industry who served as chief credit officer to the government-backed mortgage company Fannie Mae in the late 1980s.

Some lawyers who defend homeowners against foreclosure assert that mortgage companies are merely stalling, using trial loan modifications as an opportunity to extract a few more dollars from borrowers who would otherwise make no payments. Furthermore, many think they never intend to do permanent loan modifications but rather are just playing a shell game. James Tibbetts, Associate Broker, Windermere 206-932-2550

Rosa said she spends about 12 hours a week making phone calls, keeping notes and filling out forms to try to save their home in Rio Pinar. It was almost paid for in 2004 when the couple refinanced their mortgage, taking out enough equity in the house to purchase several investment properties.

Orlando was the 19th of 40 U.S. cities on the travel schedule for the program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Twelve lenders, including Citibank, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, had counselors staffing tables and working with homeowners, many of whom had stopped making mortgage payments months ago.

"We want to give homeowners the opportunity to meet face-to-face with their lenders, or an approved lender, to find the right solution for their family," Treasury spokeswoman Andrea Risotto said.

Nationwide, about 650,000 homeowners have worked out trial loan modifications with their lenders through the program — each saving an average $640 a month during the trial. The administration is pushing to convert the trial modifications into permanent ones. The federal government pays lenders at least $1,000 for each modified loan.

Risotto on Thursday urged homeowners who are in the trial program to provide required paperwork by the various deadlines and to stay current on the newly reduced monthly payments.

Apopka resident Tanya Goodman said her income dropped $35,000 because of a job change, and she had missed six months of payments. But she was able to reach a tentative deal with representatives from Ocwen Financial Corp. on Thursday to reduce her monthly payment from $1,300 to $800. She said her neighborhood is filled with foreclosures and her house isn't worth nearly what she paid for it, but she doesn't want to lose it.

Risotto was unsure of the cost of the program but said the workshops would continue through June 2010 and the program may return to Central Florida. For program details, call toll-free 888-995-4673 or visit

Through October, 650,994 delinquent borrowers have received help, or 20 percent of those potentially eligible, according to the Treasury Department. That is up from 487,081 through September. Most are in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis. About 134,609 of those who have had loans modified under the program -- typically through an interest-rate reduction -- are in California and 82,614 are in Florida.

In the Washington region, Maryland homeowners have received the most modifications, 21,634. About 16,980 Virginia homeowners have had their loans modified, as have 1,177 borrowers in the District.

The performance of major lenders in the program remains uneven. Citigroup has modified about 40 percent, or 89,000, of its delinquent borrowers who are potentially eligible, while Bank of America has modified about 14 percent, or 137,000.

"We're reaching borrowers at a larger scale than any other modification program to date, but there is still much more work to be done," Treasury Assistant Secretary Michael S. Barr said in a statement.

The data account for borrowers who have entered the trial phase of the modification process, during which they must provide significant documentation to verify that they qualify and make several payments. Homeowners must pass the trial period to make the changes permanent. Initially the administration set up a three-month trial period, but it was lengthened when lenders complained about the difficulty in getting some borrowers to provide complete information.

Housing advocates are questioning how many of the large number of borrowers who have received a loan modification on a trial basis will ultimately fail to secure a permanent workout. In an October report, the Congressional Oversight Panel, which is monitoring the government's Troubled Assets Relief Program, found that fewer than 2,000 of the nearly 400,000 borrowers in the program at that time had moved into a permanent modification.

The Obama administration recently streamlined the application process, which will be helpful, said Faith Schwartz, executive director of Hope Now Alliance, which follows foreclosure issues. But "I know it's been challenging."

Lenders can try to fit borrowers who fail the trial period into other loan-modification programs or allow them to defer payments for a short period, she said. "Every stop should be pulled out to avoid foreclosure at every stop," Schwartz said.

Even as the administration says the program is gaining momentum, questions remain about the efficacy of the $75 billion effort. Some economists have questioned how many of the borrowers who have received a modified loan under the program will default later. Also, it is unclear how well-suited the plan is to addressing what many now consider the biggest driver of foreclosures: unemployment. With little or no income, borrowers have fewer options to save their home, housing advocates say.

More than 332,000 households, or one in every 385 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice in October, such as a notice of default or trustee's sale. That's down 3 percent from September.

Banks repossessed more than 77,000 homes last month, down from nearly 88,000 homes in September.

New state programs, like one launched in Nevada in July, that require mediation before banks can seize a property have helped stem foreclosure activity, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

Also, anecdotally, lenders are delaying foreclosure as they evaluate which borrowers might qualify for the federal loan modification program, he said.

"That's the reason there's been a buildup of homes that are seriously delinquent but not foreclosed," he said.

Despite Nevada's legislative efforts to slow foreclosures, the state still clocked in the nation's highest foreclosure rate for the 34th month in a row, followed by California, Florida, Arizona and Idaho. Rounding out the top 10 were Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Maryland and Utah.

Among cities, Las Vegas had the highest rate, the report showed. One in 68 homes there received a foreclosure filing in October, more than five times the national average. Seven of the top ten metros were in California, led by Vallejo and Modesto at No. 2 and 3.

After three years of declines, home prices reversed course in June and have been rapidly climbing month-over-month. This will rebuild home equity and reduce the number of borrowers that owe more than their homes are worth.

Still, foreclosures remain near record highs and the mortgage industry is still struggling to manage the onslaught. The government has had to push many lenders to participate in the Obama administration's loan modification plan.

The Treasury Department said Tuesday that more than 650,000 borrowers, or 20 percent of those eligible, had signed up for temporary trial plans lasting up to five months. But since the beginning of September, only about 1,700 modifications had been made permanent. The Treasury Department expects to release updated data later this month.

Congress last week also extended and expanded a key federal tax credit for homebuyers that has been credited for boosting home sales recently.

Buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years are eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500, while first-time homebuyers -- or anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years -- would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30

1) Interest rates are extremely low from a historical perspective and I beleive they will be going higher over the next several years as inflation picks up.

2) While the availability of credit is still respectively tight, there are signs that it has loosened up over the past few months. Business Week ran an article in their last issue mentioning this fact but also stating that there is the possibility of it tightening again.

3) You mention that you probably will not be able to pay off the loan within the five years left which calls for refinancing your current obligation since it sounds like you plan on staying put long enough to recapture any fees associated with a refinance.

A great place to shop for current rates in your area is bankrate.com. Recent 15 year annual percentage rates (APR) for the Dallas area are below 4.6% after taking into account the refinancing fees. This is not much higher than your current rate and well worth the lock on your rate in a rising interest rate environment not to mention the fact that it will free up some cash flow to meet those growing college obligations

Yesterday we saw a huge drop in treasury yields, over 3% on the 10 year yield. The 10 year yield now sits right on its 50 day moving average which is going to make next week very interesting. We are either going to see bounce off this average and we are going to move much higher or we are going to see a breakdown which could lead us all the way down to the 200 day moving average.

The ruling is a boon to the 137,670 taxpayers who, according to First American CoreLogic, a mortgage data firm, have mortgage balances above $1 million.

Here's the background. The law allows homeowners to deduct interest on two types of home debt purchase (or acquisition) indebtedness up to $1 million and home equity indebtedness up to $100,000. Previously, two U.S. Tax Court memorandum decisions held that for a purchase of a home with a mortgage of $1.1 million, you could deduct interest on only $1 million. The reasoning: The extra $100,000 didn't count as home equity debt, but as purchase indebtedness subject to the $1 million cap. Some taxpayers have structured their affairs to claim the full $1.1 million, but others have settled for $1 million.

The IRS memo--which was sent by the IRS Office of Chief Counsel to lawyers within the IRS--states that a taxpayer who buys a $1.5 million home, borrowing $1.3 million, can deduct interest on $1.1 million. The memo recognizes that this interpretation is different than the old tax court decisions, and states: "We believe that the position in this memorandum is the better interpretation." The reasoning: The amount of a residential mortgage above $1 million can be treated as home equity debt. The first $1 million counts as purchase indebtedness, and $100,000 of the excess over $1 million counts as home-equity indebtedness

This seems only fair. After all, if one taxpayer is able to deduct interest on an additional $100,000 of home-equity debt--on top of a $1 million first mortgage--why shouldn't the full $1.1 million be allowed for the original purchase, says Thomas. The same logic the IRS used in its memo should allow the deduction of interest on the full $1.1 million of the original mortgage when calculating the alternative minimum tax too, he adds. (That's because the $100,000 home-equity loan deduction is allowed in AMT if the money is spent on buying or improving the house; it's not allowed in AMT if the $100,000 is used for other purposes.)

Some taxpayers had been working around the $1 million limit by structuring big loans in two parts--a first mortgage and a $100,000 home equity line of credit, says Mel Schwartz, legislative affairs director with Grant Thornton in Washington, D.C. "It was cumbersome, but it got around the previous IRS position," he says.

Now taxpayers can deduct the full $1.1 million without playing games.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its index of mortgage application volume fell 12.3% in the week ended Oct. 23 from the prior week. The drop in activity came as a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers faced an uncertain future. The credit, which can be worth up to $8,000 for eligible buyers, is set to expire at the end of next month.

The MBA said refinancing applications also fell, by 16.2% from the previous week. The purchase index, a measure of applications at mortgage lenders, declined 5.2% last week.

Meanwhile, interest rates on the widely-used 30-year fixed mortgage eased to 5.04% from 5.07%, according to the MBA. The MBA report also showed the average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.53% from 4.51%.

Rates for one-year adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, slid to 6.79% from 6.86%.

Government figures are expected to show Wednesday that sales of newly built homes rose at an annual rate of 440,000 units in September. That would be an increase of 2.6% versus the previous month.

On Tuesday, the S&P Case-Shiller home price index showed home prices rose for the fourth month in a row during August. Prices were down 11.3% versus August 2008, but that drop was less severe than the 11.9% year-over-year drop economists had forecast.

Builders also are feeling less positive about the likelihood of sales between now and the next six months and said home-shopper foot traffic has softened since September.

The dimmed outlook comes as the federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of a home price up to $8,000 for first-time buyers is set to expire. To qualify, homebuyers must complete their transactions by Nov. 30.

"It would be virtually impossible at this point to complete a new home sale in time to take advantage of that buyer incentive," said David Crowe, the NAHB's chief economist.

The builders' trade association is lobbying the Obama administration to support a 12-month extension. "That would amount to a very effective stimulus to housing demand and a needed boost to the overall economy," Crowe said.

Despite job losses and other impacts from the recession, new home sales have climbed five months in a row. Several major homebuilders have posted better than expected financial results since the spring.

Homebuilders' stocks slipped Monday afternoon following the release of the report. Shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., led the sector drop, with shares falling 10 cents, or about 2 percent, to $4.04.

The reading for current sales conditions slipped one point to 17. Traffic by prospective buyers fell three points to 14. The sales expectations index over the next six months fell two points to 27.

The latest NAHB index reflects a survey of 493 residential developers nationwide. Index readings below 50 indicate negative sentiment about the market. The last time it was above 50 was in April 2006.