Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory

Daily Commentary Report for 06/22/09

This week will likely prove to be very active in terms of mortgage rate movement due to the economic data and other events that are scheduled. There are six economic reports scheduled for release, but in addition to the data another Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be held and another round of Treasury sales are on the calendar. Together, we have the makings of a potentially volatile week in the financial and mortgage markets.
There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release tomorrow. Tuesday brings us the first data with the release of May’s Existing Home Sales report. The National Association of Realtors will give us figures on home resales. This data helps us measure housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand, but it is one of the week’s less important reports. It is expected to show an increase in sales from April to May.

The only important release scheduled for Wednesday is May’s Durable Goods Orders, which gives us an indication of manufacturing sector strength. It is known to be quite volatile from month to month and is expected to show a decline of 0.5% in new orders from April to May. A larger decline would be the ideal scenario for the bond market and could lead to a decline in mortgage pricing Wednesday.
Also Wednesday is the release of May’s New Home Sales that is similar to Tuesday’s Existing Home Sales report. This report tells us how well sales of newly constructed homes were last month. It is also expected to show a rise in sales, but will likely not have much of an impact on mortgage rates because this data is considered to be of low importance to the markets.

The FOMC meeting that begins Tuesday afternoon will adjourn Wednesday afternoon. It is widely expected that Mr. Bernanke and company will not change key short-term interest rates at this meeting. But, as we
have seen so many times in the past, it is the post meeting statement that often creates the most volatility in the markets. They could give an opinion of the overall economy or inflation, hinting at a possible future
move or lack of one. Statements like these could cause a knee-jerk reaction in the markets and possibly mortgage pricing Wednesday afternoon.
The only relevant economic data scheduled for release Thursday is the final reading to the1st Quarter GDP and weekly unemployment claims. The GDP data is quite aged now (covers January through March) and will likely have little impact on the bond market or mortgage pricing unless it varies greatly from previous readings. Last month’s first revision showed a 5.7% decline in the GDP. This month’s second and final revision is expected to the same decline.

May’s Personal Income and Outlays data will be posted Friday morning. This report gives us an indication of consumer ability to spend and current spending activity. Analysts are expecting to see an increase of 0.2% in income and a 0.4% rise in the spending portion of the report. Smaller than expected increases should be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates.
The second report of the day and the last important data of the week will come from the University of Michigan who will update their Index of Consumer Sentiment for May. An upward revision would be considered a negative for bonds.

Also worth noting is the fact that the Fed will be selling $104 billion in new debt this week. These
sales may influence trading enough to affect mortgage rates. There are sales every day except Friday but the two most likely to affect rates are Wednesday and Thursday’s sales. If they are met with a strong demand, we could see bond prices rise some during afternoon trading. This could lead to afternoon improvements to mortgage rates. But, the sales draw a lackluster interest from investors, mortgage rates may move higher during afternoon trading.
Overall, tomorrow will likely be the quietest day of the week. The most active should be Wednesday due to the importance of the data and FOMC meeting. Friday’s news may also affect mortgage rates, but likely not as much as earlier days. This would definitely be a good week to maintain constant contact with your mortgage professional.
If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would….
Float
if my closing was taking place within 7 days…
Float if my closing was
taking place between 8 and 20 days…
Float if my closing was taking place
between 21 and 60 days…
Float if my closing was taking place over 60
days from now…
This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Tags: association of realtors, decline, durable goods orders, existing home sales, federal open market committee, home resales, mortgage credit, mortgage markets, Mr. Bernanke, national association of realtors, open market committee, Release, release tomorrow, Wednesday, week

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Tuesday Mar. 24th

Rate Lock Advisory – Tuesday Mar. 24th

Tuesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory with no relevant data scheduled for release today. The stock markets are showing minor losses compared to yesterday’s significant rally with the Dow down 42 points and the Nasdaq down 14 points. The bond market is currently down 9/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .250 of a discount point.

Today’s selling does not completely surprise me. After the size of last week’s rally, there is still room for profit taking so that traders can capture the gains from that rally. They also need to prepare for upcoming economic reports, beginning with next week’s highly important data. With this being a fairly uneventful week in terms of expected announcements and the level of importance of the economic news on tap, traders are taking the opportunity to reposition their portfolios and prepare for the next few weeks.

There are two reports scheduled for release tomorrow. The first is the week’s most important and comes from the Commerce Department. They will release February’s Durable Goods Orders early tomorrow morning. This report gives us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking new orders for big-ticket items, or products that are expected to last three or more years. This data is known to be volatile from month to month but is still considered to be of high importance. Analysts are expecting it to show a decline in new orders of approximately 2.4%. A smaller decline would be considered a negative for bonds and could lead to higher mortgage rates tomorrow morning.

The second of the day will be released at 10:00 AM ET. February’s New Home Sales report is expected to show a small decline in sales of newly constructed homes. But with tomorrow’s report covering only approximately 15% of all home sales, its result will likely have less of an impact on mortgage rates than yesterday’s Existing Home Sa les report did.

Thursday and Friday bring us the release of a couple of moderately important reports. Thursday’s final reading to the 4th Quarter GDP will likely not influence trading or mortgage rates much. Friday’s Personal Income and Outlays data, along with the revised reading to this month’s University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment are a little more important to rates than Thursday’s report is, but both are generally considered to be only moderately important. In other words, it will likely take a large variance from forecasts for them cause a noticeable change in mortgage rates.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were fin ancing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.
©Mortgage Commentary 2009

Tags: big ticket items, bond market, closing, durable goods orders, economic reports, minor losses, mortgage rates, negative territory, rally, Release, release tomorrow, relevant data, report, stock markets, tomorrow, week

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Monday Mar. 23rd

Rate Lock Advisory – Monday Mar. 23rd

Monday’s bond market has opened fairly flat despite an early stock rally. The stock markets are reacting favorably to the release of details of the Fed’s plan for relieving banks of their bad holdings in mortgage related securities. The result is the Dow currently up 283 points and the Nasdaq up 52 points. The bond market is nearly unchanged from Friday’s close, which will likely keep this morning’s mortgage rates close to Friday’s levels.

The National Association of Realtors announced late this morning that home resales rose 5.1% last month, greatly exceeding analysts’ forecasts. This report was expected to show a small decline in sales, meaning that the housing market was much more active than many had thought. However, offsetting that news was a large decline in sales prices. This means that even though sales activity rebounded, home prices are still falling. Regardless, this data is not considered to be of high importance and therefore has had little impact on this morning’s trading or mortgage pricing.

There is no relevant economic data scheduled for release tomorrow. Wednesday’s important report comes from the Commerce Department, who will post February’s Durable Goods Orders. This report gives us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking new orders for big-ticket items, or products that are expected to last three or more years. This data is known to be volatile from month to month but is still considered to be of high importance. Analysts are expecting it to show a decline in new orders of approximately 2.4%. A smaller decline would be considered a negative for bonds and could lead to higher mortgage rates Wednesday morning.

Also scheduled for release Wednesday is February’s New Home Sales report. It is expected to show a small decline in sales of newly constructed homes, but some analysts are revising forecasts after seeing this morning’s Existing Home figures. But with tom orrow’s report covering only approximately 15% of all home sales, its result will likely have less of an impact on mortgage rates than today’s data did.

Overall, it is difficult to label one particular day as the most important of the week. The single most important report will likely be tomorrow’s Durable Goods Orders, but none of the week’s data has the potential to be a major market mover. I would like to say that this may be a relatively calm week for mortgage rates, but as we have seen recently, a lack of important releases does not mean we will not see volatility in the markets and rates. Therefore, I recommend not letting our guard down, particularly if still floating an interest rate.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closin g was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.
©Mortgage Commentary 2009

Tags: association of realtors, big ticket items, decline, durable goods orders, home resales, national association of realtors, Release, release tomorrow, report, stock markets, stock rally, Wednesday

Weekly Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Sunday Mar. 22nd

Rate Lock Advisory – Sunday Mar. 22nd

This week brings us the release of six monthly and quarterly reports for the bond market to digest. Two of these reports can be considered much less important than the others, but with data scheduled for release four out of the five days we will still likely see movement in rates from day to day.

The first report of the week is February’s Existing Home Sales late tomorrow morning. It will give us a measurement of housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand, but is usually considered to be of low importance to the financial markets. Its’ sister report- New Home Sales, will be posted Wednesday morning. Since tomorrow’s release is the day’s only data, it may influence bond trading enough to cause a slight change in mortgage rates if it varies greatly from forecasts. Current forecasts are calling both reports to show a decline in sales.

Wednesday’s important data comes from the Commerce Department, who will post February’s Durable Goods Orders. T his report gives us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking new orders for big-ticket items, or products that are expected to last three or more years. This data is known to be volatile from month to month but is still considered to be of high importance. Analysts are expecting it to show a decline in new orders of approximately 2.0%. A smaller decline would be considered a negative for bonds and could lead to higher mortgage rates Wednesday morning.

The next relevant data is Thursday’s final revision to the 4th Quarter GDP. This is the second and final revision to January’s preliminary reading and is expected to show a downward revision of 0.4% to the reading that was posted last month. Analysts are now more concerned with next month’s preliminary reading of the 1st quarter than data from three to six months ago, so I don’t expect this report to affect mortgage rates much.

There are two relevant reports scheduled for release Friday. The first is February’s Personal Income & Outlays report. This data helps us measure consumers’ ability to spend and current spending habits, which is important to the mortgage market because of the influence that consumer spending related information has on the financial markets. If a consumer’s income is rising, they are more likely to make additional purchases. This raises inflation concerns and has a negative affect on the bond market and mortgage rates. Current forecasts are calling for a 0.1% drop in income and a 0.3% increase in spending.

The second report comes from the University of Michigan at 9:45 AM ET. Their revision to the March consumer sentiment index will give us an indication of consumer confidence, which hints at consumers’ willingness to spend. It is expected to show little change from the previous reading of 56.6.

Overall, it is difficult to label one particular day as the most important of the week. The sing le most important report will likely be the Durable Goods Orders, but none of the week’s data has the potential to be a major market mover. It will be interesting to see whether last week’s Fed news influences this week’s trading. After the huge rally, we saw some weakness in bonds at the end of the week, but this did not come as a surprise. If the stock markets start to move lower again, we should see gains in bonds and improvements in mortgage rates. But, if stocks continue to move higher, further pressure in bonds are possible, leading to higher mortgage pricing.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and c annot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.
©Mortgage Commentary 2009

Tags: big ticket items, bond trading, downward revision, durable goods orders, existing home sales, mortgage credit, mortgage rates, quarter gdp, Release, relevant reports, report, week

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Feb. 26th

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Feb. 26th

Thursday’s bond market has opened in negative territory as yesterday afternoon’s selling continues. The stock markets are showing gains with the Dow up 114 points and the Nasdaq up 15 points. The bond market is currently down 24/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates .250 of a discount point higher than yesterday’s afternoon rates. If your lender did not revise higher yesterday, then you will see an increase of approximately .500 – .625 of a discount point compared to yesterday’s morning rates.

The bond market continues to show weakness despite a couple of economic reports that somewhat underscore the economic problems we are currently facing. The Commerce Department reported that new orders for big-ticket items fell 5.2% last month, more than twice the decline that analysts were expecting. The report also revealed a significant downward revision to December’s order. What was previously announced as a 2.6% drop in orders during December is now said to be 4.6%. This indicates that the manufacturing sector is still weakening. That should be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates, but has not been able to offset the recent selling in bonds.

Today’s other two releases are much less important to the markets than the Durable Goods Orders report is but the footnotes of the weekly unemployment claims and January’s New Home Sales releases bring to light how bad some parts of the economy are. The Labor Department gave us last week’s unemployment figures, saying that 667,000 new claims for benefits were filed last week. This was much higher than what was expected and is the highest number of claims in approximately 26 years.

January’s New Home Sales figures were also posted today, revealing a 10% decline in sales of newly constructed homes. This can be considered the week’s least important data but it also brings sales down to their lowest level since records began in 1963. That further supports the theory that the housing sector has not bottomed out yet.

The first of two revisions to the 4th Quarter GDP reading is scheduled for release tomorrow morning. Analysts’ forecasts currently call for a decline of 5.4%, indicating that the economy was weaker in the last quarter of the year than initially thought. It will be interesting to see where this figure falls and what its impact on the markets will be. Generally speaking, higher levels of activity are bad news for the bond market.

The last piece of data scheduled for release this week is the University of Michigan’s revision to their Index of Consumer Sentiment for February. Current forecasts show this index revising slightly higher than previously thought. The preliminary reading was 56.2 and is now expected to stand at 56.0, indicating that consumer sentiment was slightly weaker than previously thought. This index is important because it helps us measure consumer confidence th at translates into consumer willingness to spend.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Tags: big ticket items, bond, bond market, closing, decline, downward revision, durable goods orders, economic reports, manufacturing sector, negative territory, stock markets, unemployment claims, unemployment figures, week, yesterday

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Feb. 25th

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Feb. 25th

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:

The bond market has turned sour as investors again worry about the amount of new debt being sold to fund the stimulus and Fed bailout packages. The stock markets rallied off this morning’s lows during early afternoon trading but have since given back those gains to currently stand at this morning’s levels. The Dow is now down 80 points while the Nasdaq is down 16 points. The bond market has fallen from this morning’s levels to currently stand down 39/32, which will likely cause an upward revision to this afternoon’s mortgage rates of approximately .375 of a discount point from this morning’s rates.

Today’s only economic data was January’s Existing Home Sales that showed a decline in home resales of 5.3%. This was much weaker than expected and the lowest level of sales in almost 12 years. That is good news for bonds and mortgage rates, but this data is not considered to be of high importance and unfortunately has not influenced today’s rates.

The only important data scheduled for release tomorrow is January’s Durable Goods Orders data. This data gives us an important measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking orders at U.S. factories for items expected to last three or more years. A larger drop than the 2.5% that is expected would be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates. This data is quite volatile from month-to-month, so large swings are fairly normal.

We will also get weekly unemployment claims from the Labor Department, who are expected to show that 625,000 new claims were filed last week. Since this data tracks a week’s worth of claims, it usually does not affect mortgage rates too much, but can if it varies greatly from forecasts.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my clos ing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Tags: bond, bond market, closing, durable goods orders, existing home sales, fed bailout, Float, home resales, lock, mortgage rates, refinancing a home, release tomorrow, U.S., unemployment claims, upward revision

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Feb. 4th

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Feb. 4th

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory again as investors prepare for the upcoming debt sales the Treasury announced. The stock markets are showing moderate gains with the Dow up 23 points and the Nasdaq up 25 points. The bond market is currently down 9/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates slightly higher.

Today’s only economic news was the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) service index. It showed a reading of 42.9 that was higher than expected, meaning the service sector was more optimistic about business conditions last month than in December. It also was a higher reading than was expected, but fortunately not enough to affect this morning’s mortgage rates.

There are two pieces of important data scheduled for release tomorrow. The first is December’s Factory Orders data and is similar to last week’s Durable Goods Orders report except this one tracks new orders for both durable and non-durable goods . Current forecasts are calling for a decline in new orders of 3.0%. A large variance from forecasts could lead to changes in mortgage pricing.

The second report of the day is Productivity and Costs data for the 4th Quarter. Since a high level of productivity is thought to allow economic growth without inflationary concerns, this data can cause enough movement in the bond market to affect mortgage rates. If it varies greatly from analysts’ forecasts of a 1.0% increase, we may see some movement in mortgage rates tomorrow.

Also on tap for tomorrow are weekly unemployment claims from the Labor Department. With January’s monthly statistics due out Friday morning, traders will be watching the data to help predict Friday’s monthly numbers. Current forecasts are calling for 592,000 new claims. The larger the number the better scenario for mortgage rates.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Lock if my closing was takin g place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Tags: bond, bond market, closing, debt sales, durable goods orders, Float, institute for supply management, lock, moderate gains, negative territory, refinancing a home, release tomorrow, service index, tomorrow, unemployment claims, Wednesday

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Tuesday Feb. 3rd

Rate Lock Advisory – Tuesday Feb. 3rd

Tuesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory despite a lack of economic news. The stock markets are showing moderate gains with the Dow up 35 points and the Nasdaq up 6 points. The bond market is currently down 3/32, but we will likely still see an improvement in this morning’s mortgage rates of approximately .125 – .250 of a discount point due top strength in bonds late yesterday.

There is no relevant news scheduled for release today. Tomorrow’s only data is the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) service index. It is similar to yesterday’s manufacturing index but tracks the service sector. If it shows a significant surprise, it may affect bond trading enough to slightly change mortgage rates. However, more times than not its results do not affect rates.

The first of Thursday’s two reports is the release December’s Factory Orders data. It is similar to last week’s Durable Goods Orders report except this one tracks new orders for both durable and non-durable goods. Current forecasts are calling for a decline in new orders of 3.0%. I large variance from forecasts could lead to changes in mortgage pricing.

The only quarterly report being released of any importance is Thursday’s Productivity and Costs data for the 4th Quarter. Since a high level of productivity is thought to allow economic growth without inflationary concerns, this data can cause enough movement in the bond market to affect mortgage rates. If it varies greatly from analysts’ forecasts of a 1.0% increase, we may see some movement in mortgage rates Thursday.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financi ng a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Tags: bond, bond market, bond trading, closing, durable goods orders, Float, institute for supply management, lock, moderate gains, mortgage rates, negative territory, refinancing a home, service index, Thursday, Tuesday

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Jan. 28th Afternoon Update

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Jan. 28th

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:

Today’s FOMC meeting adjourned with no change to key short-term interest rates, keeping the benchmark Fed Funds Rate near 0%. The stock markets rallied following the adjournment, pushing the Dow up 200 points and the Nasdaq higher by 53 points on the day. The bond market soured though, driving bond prices lower that pushed yields and mortgage rates higher. Overall, we can expect to see an increase in tomorrow’s mortgage rates of approximately .375 of a discount point unless the morning’s data offsets those losses or pushes them higher.

The post meeting statement did give us some insight into what actions the Fed may take to help boost economic activity since this rate can’t be lowered any further. They indicated that they were ready to buy longer-term government securities such as the 10-year Treasury Note and 30 year Bond if they felt that it would generate lending. This is actually good news as it creates another buyer for all the debt that could some to market to pay for the stimulus package currently being considered. Unfortunately, the statement was not very definitive, more or less saying that it is an option available not a commitment to do so.

The statement also hinted at the Fed’s forecast for the economy, saying that significant risks still remain but that a ?gradual recovery? could begin late this year. In other words they expect the economy to continue to slow for most of the year before slowly rebounding. That is actually fairly favorable news for bonds, but traders apparently were disappointed by the lack of solid details of what the Fed will do, particularly regarding the possibility or likelihood of buying government securities. The result was a weak afternoon for bonds and a likely upward revision to mortgage pricing.

Tomorrow morning brings us the release of December’s Durable Goods Orders. This data helps us measure manufacturing strength by tracking new orders at U.S. factories for products that are expected to last three or more years. The data often is quite volatile from month to month, but is currently expected to show a decline in orders of 2.0%. A larger than expected drop would be good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

December’s New Home Sales report, the sister release to Monday’s Existing Home Sales, will be posted late tomorrow morning. It is expected to show another decline in sales of new homes, but is not important enough to heavily influence mortgage pricing.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Float if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaran teed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Tags: Afternoon, bond, bond prices, decline, durable goods orders, fed funds rate, fomc meeting, government securities, Home, interest, lock, Mortgage, mortgage rate, stimulus package, stock markets, tomorrow, UPDATE, upward revision, year, year treasury note

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Jan. 28th

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Jan. 28th

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in positive territory despite early stock gains. The stock markets are currently showing noticeable gains with the Dow up 118 points and the Nasdaq up 41 points. The bond market is currently up 2/32, which with yesterday’s late gains should improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

There is no relevant economic data being released today. Later this afternoon though we will get the results of the year’s first FOMC meeting. It will adjourn at 2:15 PM ET but it is expected to yield no change to short-term interest rates and probably will not heavily influence trading or mortgage rates. Traders will be looking for any indication of the Fed’s next move in the post meeting statement. However, I am not expecting major impact on the markets or mortgage rates because the Fed can’t lower key rates much more. There is little chance of indicating a possible rate hike in the near future, so I do n’t believe that this meeting will have the influence they usually do.

Tomorrow morning brings us the release of December’s Durable Goods Orders. This data helps us measure manufacturing strength by tracking new orders at U.S. factories for products that are expected to last three or more years. The data often is quite volatile from month to month, but is currently expected to show a decline in orders of 2.0%. A larger than expected drop would be good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

December’s New Home Sales report, the sister release to Monday’s Existing Home Sales, will be posted late tomorrow morning. It is expected to show another decline in sales of new homes, but is not important enough to heavily influence mortgage pricing.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Float if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Tags: bond, bond market, closing, durable goods orders, existing home sales, Float, fomc meeting, mortgage rates, rate, rate hike, refinancing a home, stock gains, stock markets, U.S., Wednesday