Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Tuesday Feb. 24th

Rate Lock Advisory – Tuesday Feb. 24th

Tuesday’s bond market has opened in positive territory following news of a plummet in consumer confidence last month and word that the Fed expects it to take a couple of years for the economy to fully recover from the recession. The stock markets are showing gains with the Dow currently up 48 points while the Nasdaq up 16 points. The bond market is currently up 8/32, which will likely improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .125 of a discount point.

The Conference Board gave us February’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) late this morning, showing a reading of 25.0. This was an all-time low and indicates that consumers are still concerned about their jobs and own financial situations. That is expected to mean that they are less likely to make large purchases in the near future, which will limit economic growth. This is good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

Also this morning was Mr. Bernanke’s semi-annual testimony on the status of the economy to the Senate Banking Committee. During his testimony he stated that he was optimistic that the recession would end later this year, but that it would take two to three years for the economy to fully recover from it. He also said that restoring financial stability is needed for the economy to recover. None of this is a major surprise but making it official word from Chairman Bernanke gives the markets benchmarks to follow.

January’s Existing Home Sales report will be posted late tomorrow morning. This is one of the least important reports of the week, along with Thursday’s New Home Sales report. They measure housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand, but usually do not have a significant impact on bond trading or mortgage rates. The Existing Home Sales report is expected to show an increase in sales but new home sales are expected to fall slightly.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Float if my clo sing 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: bernanke, bond, bond trading, Chairman Bernanke, closing, consumer confidence index, existing home sales, existing home sales report, financial situations, Float, mortgage credit, mortgage rates, Mr. Bernanke, refinancing a home, senate banking committee, Tuesday

Weekly Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Sunday Feb. 22nd

Rate Lock Advisory – Sunday Feb. 22nd

This week brings us the release of six pieces of economic data for the bond market to digest along with some very important testimony from Fed Chairman Bernanke. Two of the reports are considered to be of low importance, but since we have data being posted every day of the week except for tomorrow, it is likely that we will see plenty of movement in mortgage rates the next few days.

Tuesday morning brings us the first of this week’s data with the release of February’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) during late morning trading. This Conference Board index measures consumer confidence in their personal financial situations, giving us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the economy, related data is considered important in terms of gauging economic activity. It is expected to show a decline in confidence from 37.7 in January to 36.0 this month. A lower reading would be considered good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

Mr. Bernanke will deliver the Fed’s semi-annual testimony on the status of the economy late Tuesday morning. He will be speaking to the Senate Banking Committee and market participants will watch his words very closely. The Fed Chairman is required to deliver this testimony twice a year, which is considered to be of extreme importance to the financial markets. We almost always see the markets move as a result of what he says during this testimony. Look for him to address the banking and housing crises specifically and their impact on the overall economy. His testimony begins at 10:00 AM ET with a prepared statement then is followed by Q & A with committee members. I am expecting to see the markets fluctuate during this session, possibly affecting mortgage rates also.

January’s Existing Home Sales report will be posted late Wednesday morning. This is one of the least important reports of the week, along with Thursday’s New Home Sales report. They measure housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand, but usually do not have a significant impact on bond trading or mortgage rates. The Existing Home Sales report is expected to show an increase in sales but new home sales are expected to fall slightly.

The only important data scheduled for release Thursday 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 2.3% 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.

The first of two revisions to the 4th Quarter GDP reading is scheduled for release Friday morning. Analysts’ forecasts currently call for a decline of 5.4%, indicating that the economy was weaker in the last quarter of the ye ar 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 56.5, indicating that consumer sentiment was slightly stronger than previously thought. This index is important because it helps us measure consumer confidence that translates into consumer willingness to spend.

Overall, look for plenty of movement in bond prices and mortgage rates this week. I think we will see the most movement either Tuesday or Thursday, but Friday may be fairly active also. This would be a good week to maintain 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: bond, Chairman Bernanke, consumer confidence index, consumer confidence index cci, existing home sales, existing home sales report, fed chairman bernanke, index measures, market participants, Mr. Bernanke, personal financial situations, Release, senate banking committee, Testimony, tuesday morning, U.S., week

Daily Rate Lock Recommendation – 07/15/2008 1:17:00 PM EST

Tuesday’s bond market has opened in positive territory again as the volatility in stocks continues. The stock markets are in negative territory with the Dow down 106 points and the Nasdaq down 28 points. The bond market is currently up 18/32, which likely improve this morning’s mortgage by approximately .250 of a discount point. The Labor Department gave us June’s Producer Price Index (PPI) this morning, saying that prices rose 1.8% last month. This exceeds the 1.3% increase that was forecasted. However, the core data reading of 0.2% that excludes more volatile food and energy prices fell short of forecasts. This means that food and energy prices spiked more than expected, but since core prices did not rise as much as thought that data is being considered favorable for bonds. June’s Retail Sales report was also released today, showing a 0.1% increase in sales when analysts had predicted a 0.4% rise. This was lower than expected and indicates tha t consumers are being more frugal than thought. That is good news for bonds because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Fed Chairman Bernanke’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee this morning did not reveal any significant surprises. He indicated there was concern about the housing market along with energy costs and their impact on the economy, saying that they could drag on the economy the remainder of the year. He will likely repeat the same testimony tomorrow before the House Financial Services Committee. I am not expecting his words to impact bonds or rates tomorrow unless something in the question and answer portion surprises us. Tomorrow brings us the release of June’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). It is a mirror of today’s PPI with the exception that the CPI measures inflation at the more important consumer level of the economy. Analysts have forecasted a 0.7% increase in the overall index a nd a 0.2% rise in the core data. The core data is considered to be the key reading because it excludes more volatile food and energy prices, giving us a more stable measure of inflation. Higher than expected readings could raise inflation fears and push mortgage rates higher tomorrow. June’s Industrial Production data will also be posted tomorrow morning. This data measures output and U.S. factories, mines and utilities, giving us an indication of manufacturing sector strength. It is expected to show a 0.2% rise in production, indicating that the manufacturing sector showed moderate growth during the month. A smaller than expected increase would be good news and could help push mortgage rates slightly lower tomorrow. Also worth noting is the release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting. There is a possibility of the markets reacting to them following their 2:00 PM ET release tomorrow, especially if they show some divisiveness by its members durin g discussion and voting at the last meeting. If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Lock 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: Chairman Bernanke, closing, consumer price index, core prices, Energy, fed chairman bernanke, financial services committee, house financial services committee, index cpi, producer price index, producer price index ppi, question and answer portion, senate banking committee, tomorrow, U.S.