Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory

Daily Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Nov. 19th

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Nov. 19th

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in positive territory following favorable results from today’s CPI release. The stock markets are showing another round of early losses with the Dow down 150 points and the Nasdaq down 40 points. The bond market is currently up 17/32, which will likely improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

The Labor Department gave us today’s big news with the release of October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). They reported that the overall reading fell 1.0% last month while the core data fell 0.1%. Both of these readings were below forecasts, indicating that inflationary pressures at the consumer level of the economy were not as bad as many had thought. This is very good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

October’s Housing Starts was also posted this morning, showing a stronger level of new starts than what forecasts were calling for. That could be considered bad news for the bond ma rket and mortgage pricing, but this data is not considered to be of high importance to the markets therefore has had little impact on today’s pricing.

The minutes to the last FOMC meeting will be released at 2:00 PM ET. These may be a major mover of the markets or could be a non-factor, depending on what they say. The key will be concerns over inflation and the Fed’s next move. If the Fed members were concerned about inflationary pressures, we may see the bond market move lower and mortgage rates higher tomorrow afternoon. However, if they indicate a likelihood of another rate cut in the coming months, we should see the bond market rise and mortgage rates drop during afternoon trading.

Tomorrow brings us the release of weekly unemployment figures and October’s Leading Economic Indicators (LEI). The Labor Department will post weekly unemployment claims but unless it varies greatly from the 503,000 that is expected, I don’t believe this data will affect tomorrow’s mortgage pricing.

The LEI will be posted by the Conference Board at 10:00 AM ET and is expected to show a decline of 0.6%. This means that the report is predicting economic activity to slow relatively quickly in the next three to six months. That would be good news for bonds because a slowing or weakening economy generally speaking makes bonds more attractive to investors and usually leads to lower mortgage rates.

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, closing, consumer price index, Float, fomc meeting, index cpi, inflationary pressures, leading economic indicators, LEI, market move, mortgage rates drop, Release, today, unemployment claims, unemployment figures

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Nov. 6th

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Nov. 6th

Thursday’s bond market has opened in negative territory despite another round of stock losses and favorable economic news. The stock markets are continuing yesterday’s late selling that drove the Dow down 486 points and the Nasdaq down 98 points. The Dow has currently lost another 174 points while the Nasdaq has fallen 41 points. The bond market has fluctuated this morning between positive and negative ground, but currently stands down 11/32. This should mean that this morning’s mortgage rates will be approximately .125 – .250 of a discount point higher than yesterday’s rates.

This morning’s release of the 3rd Quarter Productivity reading revealed a larger than expected increase of 1.1% in employee output. This was slightly higher than forecasts, but is still considered to be good news for bonds because high levels if productivity allows the economy to grow without inflationary pressures rising.

The second piece of data this morning was last we ek’s unemployment figures from the Labor Department. They reported that 481,000 new claims for benefits were filed last week. This was a drop from the previous week but higher than expected. This news isn’t the cause of this morning’s stock weakness, but today’s data was watched more closely due to the importance of tomorrow’s monthly report.

October’s Employment report will be released early tomorrow morning. It is expected to show that the economy lost 200,000 jobs, that unemployment rate moved from 6.1% to 6.3% and that average earnings rose 0.2% during the month. The large drop in payrolls and 0.2% jump in the unemployment rate are numbers of concern to the markets, therefore, I don’t believe that we will need to see weaker than expected results to see bonds improve and mortgage rates move lower.

I am expecting to see more volatility in bonds and mortgage rates in the days ahead. Accordingly, it may be a good time to lock if closing in the im mediate future. Regardless though, I strongly recommend maintaining contact with your mortgage professional over the next week or so.

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: average earnings, closing, employment report, Float, importance of tomorrow, inflationary pressures, mortgage rates, negative territory, quarter productivity, rate, stock, stock losses, Unemployment, unemployment figures, unemployment rate, week

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Nov. 5th

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Nov. 5th

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in positive territory, continuing yesterday’s late rally. The stock markets are well into negative ground this morning with the Dow down 171 points and the Nasdaq down 37 points. The bond market is currently up 3/32, but due significant strength in bonds late yesterday, we will likely see an improvement of approximately .500 – .625 in today’s mortgage rates.

There is no important data scheduled for release today. Tomorrow’s sole important report is the 3rd Quarter Productivity reading. The productivity index is expected to show a level of worker productivity during the third quarter much lower than last quarter’s final reading of 4.3%. Analysts have forecasted a 1.0 rise in worker output. A larger increase would be good news for the bond market because high levels of productivity helps the economy to expand without inflationary pressures being a concern.

We also will get weekly unemployment figures from the Lab or Department early tomorrow morning. It is expected to show that new claims for benefits fell slightly to 476,000 last week. While this data usually does not have much of an impact on the markets because it tracks only a week’s worth of claims, tomorrow’s release may be a little more influential than usual. This is because the release will cover the last full week of October and with Friday’s monthly report coming out for the entire month, traders will be looking for any significant change in claims that may alter their estimates for the monthly report.

Friday’s Employment report is expected to show that the economy lost 200,000 jobs, that unemployment rate moved from 6.1% to 6.3% and that average earnings rose 0.2% during the month. The large drop in payrolls and 0.2% jump in the unemployment rate are numbers of concern to the markets, therefore, I don’t believe that we will need to see weaker than expected results to see bonds improve and mortgage rates move lower. However, stronger than forecasted readings could give back this morning’s improvements to rates since the markets are expecting weak numbers.

I am expecting to see more volatility in bonds and mortgage rates in the days ahead. Accordingly, it may be a good time to lock if closing in the immediate future. Regardless though, I strongly recommend maintaining contact with your mortgage professional over the next week or so.

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: average earnings, bond, bond market, closing, employment report, inflationary pressures, mortgage rates, Productivity, productivity index, quarter productivity, rate, report, unemployment figures, unemployment rate, week, worker productivity

Rate Lock Advisory – Tuesday Nov. 4th

Rate Lock Advisory – Tuesday Nov. 4th

Tuesday’s bond market has opened up slightly despite sizable stock gains during early trading. The stock markets are strong this morning with the Dow up 262 points and the Nasdaq up 42 points. The bond market is currently up 2/32, which will likely improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .125 of a discount point.

Today’s only relevant data came from the Commerce Department who posted September’s Factory Orders report. It showed a decline of 2.5% that was an improvement from August’s 4/3% drop, but was also much weaker than the 0.8% decline that was expected. This means that new orders at U.S. factories fell much more than thought and indicates a rapidly slowing manufacturing sector. This is good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

There is no important data scheduled for release tomorrow. Thursday’s sole important report is the 3rd Quarter Productivity reading. The productivity index is expected to show a level of worker productivi ty during the third quarter much lower than last quarter’s final reading of 4.3%. Analysts have forecasted a 1.0 rise in worker output. A larger increase would be good news for the bond market because high levels of productivity helps the economy to expand without inflationary pressures being a concern.

We also will get weekly unemployment figures from the Labor Department early tomorrow morning. It is expected to show that new claims for benefits fell slightly to 476,000 last week. While this data usually does not have much of an impact on the markets because it tracks only a week’s worth of claims, tomorrow’s release may be a little more influential than usual. This is because the release will cover the last full week of October and with Friday’s monthly report coming out for the entire month, traders will be looking for any significant change in claims that may alter their estimates for the monthly report.

If I were considering financing/refinanci ng 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: 3rd quarter, bond, bond market, closing, Float, inflationary pressures, mortgage rates, productivity index, quarter productivity, Release, release tomorrow, report, stock gains, stock markets, tomorrow, U.S., unemployment figures

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Oct. 30th

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Oct. 30th

Thursday’s bond market has opened in negative territory following the release of a stronger than expected GDP reading and early stock gains. The Dow has risen 132 points while the Nasdaq has gained 30 points. The bond market is currently down 17/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .375 of a discount point.

This morning’s big news was the preliminary reading of the 3rd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP is considered to be the benchmark measurement of economic growth because it is the sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S. It revealed a decline of 0.3%, its worst reading in seven years. It also was only the fifth time in 17 years that the quarterly GDP has fallen. However, analysts were expecting to see a 0.5% decline, therefore, the numbers weren’t as bad as expected. Also contributing to this morning’s losses was a key inflation reading in the data that showed a larger than expected inc rease. This raised some inflation concerns and contributed to the weak opening in bonds.

The Labor Department posted weekly unemployment figures this morning, saying that 479,000 new claims were filed last week. This was nearly unchanged from the previous week, but was slightly higher than forecasts. However, there is no comparison between the importance of this data and the GDP. With the GDP being considered a very highly important report, the markets ignored the weekly claims figures.

There are three reports scheduled for release tomorrow. The first is the 3rd Quarter Employment Cost Index (ECI), which tracks employer costs for salaries and benefits. Rapidly rising costs raises wage inflation concerns and may hurt bond prices. It is expected to show an increase in costs of 0.7%. A smaller than expected increase would be good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

September’s Personal Income and Outlays report will also be posted early tomor row. This data gives us an indication of consumer ability to spend and current spending habits. It is important to the markets because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Rising income generally indicates that consumers have more money to spend, making economic growth more of a possibility. This is bad news for the bond market and mortgage rates because it raises inflation concerns, making long-term securities such as mortgage related bonds less attractive to investors. Analysts are expecting to see an increase of 0.1% in income and decline in outlays of 0.2%.

The week’s last report comes at 10:00 AM ET tomorrow when the University of Michigan updates their Index of Consumer Sentiment for this month. Current forecasts show this index remaining nearly unchanged from this month’s preliminary reading of 57.5. This index is important because it helps us measure consumer confidence, which is believed to indicate consumers’ willingness to spend. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, any related data is considered to be important.

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, closing, employer costs, GDP, inflation concerns, negative territory, quarter employment, quarterly gdp, release tomorrow, stock gains, U.S., U.S. It, unemployment figures, wage inflation

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Oct. 9th

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Oct. 9th

Thursday’s bond market has opened down sharply despite a lackluster opening in stocks. The stock markets are mixed with the Dow down 16 points and the Nasdaq up 20 points. The bond market is currently down 33/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .375 – .500 of a discount point.

The markets still seem to be lost and unable to gain and solid traction. I am surprised that bonds are taking as much of a beating today as they are, especially with no solid gains in stocks. However, this could mean some traders feel the bottom is near for the stock markets and that funds are likely to shift back into stocks very soon. Accordingly, we may want to consider locking a rate is still floating and if closing in the immediate future.

There was no monthly or quarterly economic news released today. The only data posted was weekly unemployment figures from the Labor Department. They reported that 478,000 new claims for benefits were filed last week. This was a decline from the previous week’s 498,000 claims but was slightly higher than forecasts. But, since this data is not considered to be of high importance since it tracks only a week’s worth of claims, it has not been able to help bonds this morning.

August’s Goods and Services Trade Balance will be released early tomorrow, but is not likely to cause much of a change in mortgage pricing. It will give us the size of the U.S. trade deficit, but usually does not lead to significant movement in bond prices or mortgage rates. It is expected to show a $59.0 billion trade deficit.

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: bond, bond market, bond prices, closing, immediate future, labor department, lock, mortgage rates, rate, refinancing a home, stock markets, Thursday, Trade, trade balance, trade deficit, U.S., unemployment figures, week

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Oct. 8th

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Oct. 8th

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory again, following the path of stocks and other markets despite the Fed rate cut news. The stock markets are showing another round of volatility this morning with the Dow down 60 points and the Nasdaq up 10 points but both well off earlier highs. The bond market is currently down 18/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .250 of a discount point.

In a surprise move, the Fed announced an emergency rate cut of a half point to the benchmark Fed Funds rate. This was coordinated with several other international central banks in an effort to spur global economic activity. The markets initially took this as very good news, hence the strong opening in stocks. However, it was short-lived as skepticism about it being enough to fix the crisis rose. The bond market is suffering today, but as previously mentioned, I believe there is still more room for stocks to fall befo re bottoming out. This could mean bonds become the preferred investment and lead to lower mortgage rates in the immediate future.

Yesterday’s release of the FOMC minutes and words by Fed Chairman Bernanke actually helped fuel the theory that the Fed was getting ready to lower key rates again. But, not many people expected today’s move, particularly the involvement of other central banks. Still, it does signal that the Fed is in tune to the current crisis and ready to act at anytime to help slow or end the market meltdowns.

The only data scheduled for release tomorrow is weekly unemployment figures from the Labor Department. They are expected to show that 475,000 new claims were filed last week, down by 24,000 from the previous week. Unless they vary greatly from forecasts, I don’t think this data will affect mortgage rates much.

The only factual economic data of the week will be posted Friday morning. August’s Goods and Services Trade Balance will be released that day, but is not likely to cause much of a change in mortgage pricing. It will give us the size of the U.S. trade deficit, but usually does not lead to significant movement in bond prices or mortgage rates.

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: bond, central banks, Chairman Bernanke, closing, Fed, fed chairman bernanke, fed funds rate, fomc minutes, global economic activity, lock, lower mortgage, preferred investment, rate, release tomorrow, surprise move, U.S., unemployment figures, week

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Sep. 11th

Rate Lock Advisory – Thursday Sep. 11th

Thursday’s bond market has bounced around in the wake of extremely volatile stock trading this morning. The stock markets are showing losses at the moment, but are currently significantly higher than earlier lows. The Dow is now standing down 19 points after falling as much as 170 points earlier. The Nasdaq is currently up 6 points but was as low as down 37 points before rebounding. The recovery in stocks is pressuring bonds and preventing much of an improvement in this morning’s mortgage rates. The bond market is currently unchanged from yesterday’s close, which should keep this morning’s mortgage rates at yesterday’s levels.

Today’s only monthly economic data was July’s Goods and Services Trade Balance report.

It showed that the U.S. trade deficit rose to $62.2 billion last month when it was expected to reveal a deficit of approximately $58.0 billion. Fortunately though, this data is not considered to be of high importance to the markets.

The Labor Department released weekly unemployment figures this morning, saying that 445,000 new claims were filed. This was a drop of 6,000, which was very close to forecasts and has not had an impact on the markets or mortgage rates.

Tomorrow morning brings us the release of three pieces of relevant data. The first is the release of August’s Retail Sales report. It will give us a measurement of consumer spending, which is very important to the markets because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Current forecasts are calling for a 0.3% increase in sales. If we see a higher level of spending than what is forecasted, the bond market will most likely fall and mortgage rates will rise. However, a weaker than expected reading could push bond prices higher and mortgage rates lower tomorrow morning.

The second important piece of data is the release of August’s Producer Price Index (PPI). This report will give us a very importa nt measurement of inflationary pressures at the producer level of the economy. There are two readings that analysts follow in this release. They are the overall index and the core data reading. The core data is the more important of the two because it excludes more volatile food and energy prices. Analysts are currently calling for a 0.5% decline in the overall index, and a rise of 0.2% in the core data. Stronger than expected readings could fuel inflation concerns in the bond market and lead to an increase in mortgage rates Friday morning.

The last report of the week comes from the University of Michigan late tomorrow morning. Their consumer sentiment index will give us an indication of consumer confidence, which hints at consumers’ willingness to spend. If confidence is rising, consumers are more apt to make large purchases. But, if they are growing more concerned of their personal financial situations, they probably will delay making that large purchase. This influences future consumer spending data and can impact the financial markets. It is expected to show a reading of 64.0.

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: balance report, bond, bond market, bond prices, closing, mortgage rates, producer price index, producer price index ppi, Release, spending, stock markets, three pieces, U.S., unemployment figures, volatile stock

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Sep. 10th

Rate Lock Advisory – Wednesday Sep. 10th

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory as investors sell holdings to capture profits from the recent rally. Stock gains are also contributing to the weakness in bonds with the Dow up 80 points and the Nasdaq up 12 points. The bond market is currently down 20/32, but we will likely see a slight improvement in mortgage rates due to strength in bonds late yesterday.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release today. Tomorrow brings us the the release of the first economic report of the week but it is not considered to be of high importance. July’s Goods and Services Trade Balance data will be posted tomorrow morning, giving us the size of the U.S. trade deficit. It is expected to show a deficit of approximately $58.0 billion, which would be an increase from June’s $56.8 billion. However, I would consider this the least important of this week’s releases, meaning it will likely have little impact on bond trading or mortgage rates. < br />
Also tomorrow is the release of weekly unemployment figures. The Labor Department is expected to show that 440,000 new claims for benefits were filed last week. A significantly higher or lower number may influence trading enough to affect mortgage rates. However, it is more likely that this release will have little impact on rates, especially with the important data that is scheduled for release Friday morning.

We will see three relevant reports posted Friday, two of which are very important to the markets. They are August’s Retail Sales report and Producer Price Index (PPI) and September’s University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment. This makes Friday the most important day of the week, meaning we may see plenty of movement in rates Friday.

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 cl osing 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: balance data, bond, closing, index of consumer sentiment, lock, michigan index, negative territory, producer price index, producer price index ppi, Release, relevant reports, stock gains, tomorrow, U.S., unemployment figures, Wednesday, week

Daily Rate Lock Recommendation – 08/06/2008 12:21:00 PM EST

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory as traders continue to digest yesterday’s events. Also contributing to this morning’s weakness was news of a much larger than expected quarterly loss and mortgage giant Freddie Mac. This raised concerns about the credit markets and the stability of the company and its sister entity Fannie Mae. The concern led to more selling in bonds in this morning and sizable increases to mortgage rates. The stock markets are mixed with the Dow down 21 points and the Nasdaq up 6 points. The bond market is currently down 12/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .375 – .500 of a discount point over yesterday’s morning rates. There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release today. Yesterday’s FOMC meeting has adjourned with an announcement that there was not a change to key short-term interest rates. It was the second consecutive meeting with no change and was widely expected. The post-meeting statement indicated that the Fed was aware and considered the economic slowdown but also was quite concerned about the threat of inflation. Those words created concern in the bond market since inflation erodes the value of a bond’s future fixed interest payments. The next piece of news is tomorrow’s posting of weekly unemployment figures and those are not considered to be of high importance to the markets. This leaves the bond market to be influenced by stock and oil prices. If stocks continue to move higher, we may see bonds suffer and mortgage rates move higher until Friday’s data is posted. If the major indexes begin to fall, bond could benefit and drive mortgage rates lower. Employee Productivity and Costs data for the second quarter will be released Friday morning. It will give us an indication of employee output. High levels of productivity are believed to allow the economy to grow without fears of inflation. I don’t see this being a big mover of mortgage pricing, but since it is the only data of the day it may influence rates slightly. Analysts are currently expecting to see an increase in productivity of 2.7%. A higher than expected reading could help improve bonds, leading to lower mortgage rates. 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: bond, bond market, closing, credit markets, economic slowdown, employee productivity, fannie mae, fomc meeting, mortgage rates, negative territory, Productivity, quarterly loss, unemployment figures, yesterday