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Mortgage Rate Forecast for OrleansMA for March 10, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Orleans, MA:
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 101.03 this morning - down 12/32 yesterday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 100.89 - down 4/32 from its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 2-8-2010 to 3-10-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes down, the yield goes up - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be as much as 0.375% worse in price this morning as compared to yesterday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
There are no economic reports scheduled for release today.
In other news, the Treasury Dept will be auctioning $21 billion in 10-Year Notes today. The Notes and Bonds are used to finance the massive government debt. If there is a strong demand for the Notes, we should see the bond and mortgage markets market move higher during afternoon trading which in turn lead to lower mortgage rates. However, a lackluster interest from buyers, particularly international investors, would indicate a waning appetite for longer-term U.S. securities and could lead to broader selling in the bond and mortgage markets. That in turn could lead to higher mortgage rates this week.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. However, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 31st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have improved slightly this past week. However, if you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for ChathamMA for March 9, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Chatham, MA:
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 101.16 this morning - the same as Friday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 101.38 - up 7/32 from its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 2-7-2010 to 3-9-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes up, the yield comes down - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be as much as 0.250% better in price this morning as compared to yesterday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
There are no economic reports scheduled for release today.
In other news, the Treasury Dept will be auctioning $40 billion in 3-Year Notes today. The Notes and Bonds are used to finance the massive government debt. If there is a strong demand for the Notes, we should see the bond and mortgage markets market move higher during afternoon trading which in turn lead to lower mortgage rates. However, a lackluster interest from buyers, particularly international investors, would indicate a waning appetite for longer-term U.S. securities and could lead to broader selling in the bond and mortgage markets. That in turn could lead to higher mortgage rates this week.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. However, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 31st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have improved slightly this past week. However, if you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for Harwich MA for March 8, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Harwich, MA:
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 101.19 this morning - the same as Friday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 101.06 - down 4/32 from its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 2-6-2010 to 3-8-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes down, the yield goes up - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be 0.125% - 0.250% worse in price this morning as compared to Friday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
There are no economic reports scheduled for release today.
In other news, The Treasury Dept will be auctioning a total of $74 billion in 3-Year and 10-Year Notes and a 30-Year bond this week. The Treasury Dept will also auction an additional $136 billion in Treasury bills. Treasury bills are obligations with a duration of one year or less. The Notes and Bonds are used to finance the massive government debt. If there is a strong demand for the Notes, we should see the bond and mortgage markets market move higher during afternoon trading which in turn lead to lower mortgage rates. However, a lackluster interest from buyers, particularly international investors, would indicate a waning appetite for longer-term U.S. securities and lead to broader selling in the bond and mortgage markets. That in turn could lead to higher mortgage rates this week.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. However, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 31st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have improved slightly this past week. However, if you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for Brewster MA for March 5, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Brewster, MA:
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 101.44 this morning - the same as yesterday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 101.19 - down 8/32 from its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 2-3-2010 to 3-5-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes down, the yield goes up - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be 0.125% - 0.250% worse in price this morning as compared to yesterday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Employment Situation Report - according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-farm payroll fell by 36,000 in February, and is not as bas as expected. Analysts expected a loss of 50,000 jobs. This follows a loss of 20,000 jobs in January, a loss of 150,000 jobs in December, and a gain of 64,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate remains at 9.7%, slightly less than the 9.8% rate that was expected. The unemployment rate stood at 10.0% in November and December. This data had a negative impact on themortgage market this morning as prices of mortgage backed securities fell on the news. This lead to higher mortgage rates this morning.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. However, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 51st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have improved slightly this past week. However, if you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for Dennis MA for March 4, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Dennis, MA.
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 101.25 this morning - the same as yesterday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 101.25 - the same as its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 2-2-2010 to 3-4-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes up, the yield comes down - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be the same if not better in price this morning as compared to yesterday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Revision to the 4th Quarter Non-farm Productivity and Cost Index - is up 6.9% for the 4th quarter of 2009, while labor costs plunged 5.9%. This shows that companies are more productive with less workers. This is good news for profitability, but not good news for jobs. However, the report had no impact on themortgage market or mortgage rates this morning.
Jobless Claims - 469,000 new claims for unemployment were filed last week. This is 6,000 less than expected, and 29,000 less than the previous week. The four-week average for unemployment fell by 3,000 to 470,750, and continuing claims fell by 134,000 to 4.50 million. While the number of people receiving unemployment fell to the lowest level in a year, those receiving extended unemployment benefits increased by 198,000 to 5.87 million. This suggests that there's no significant change in the labor market as compared to January. This data is usually not considered to be very important to the mortgage market; the decrease in unemployment had no impact on themortgage market or mortgage rates this morning.
Factory Orders - rose 1.7%, less than the 2.0% increase that was expected, and follows a 1.0% increase the previous month. It's similar to the Durable Goods Orders release that was posted late last week, except this report includes orders for both durable and non-durable goods. Durable goods are items that are expected to last three or more years such as electronics and autos. Examples of non-durable goods are food and clothing. This report had no impact on themortgage market or mortgage rates this morning.
Existing Home Sales Report - released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), this report will provide us with a measurement of housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand. Existing home sales fell 7.6% in February - analysts were expecting a 1.7% increase. This decline follows declines of 7.2% in January and 16.7% in December. However, existing home sales are up 12.3% from January 2009. While significant, this report had no impact on themortgage market or mortgage rates this morning.
The news team at CNBC review today's initial jobless claims and productivity data:
In other news, the Treasury Dept will announce later this morning Treasury announces the terms of the Notes and Bond auctions scheduled for next week. The Notes and Bonds are used to finance the massive government debt, and the results of these auctions could result in higher mortgage rates next week.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. However, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 41st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have improved slightly this past week. However, if you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for YarmouthMA for March 3, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Yarmouth, MA.
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 101.09 this morning - the same as yesterday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 101.03 - down 2/32 from its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 2-1-2010 to 3-3-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes down, the yield goes up - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be up to 0.125% worse in price this morning as compared to yesterday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
ADP Employment Report - 20,000 private non-farm jobs were lost in February. This is less than the revised 60,000 jobs that were lost in January. However, this report had no impact on mortgage rates this morning.
Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Index - growth in the non-manufacturing sector is up 2.5 points in February with a reading of 53.0 in the overall index, better than expected, and is better than January's reading of 50.5. A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing sector expansion rather than contraction. The new orders component increased 0.3 points to 55.0 while the prices index declined 0.8 to 60.4. Employment increased 4.0 points to 48.6. However, this report had no impact on mortgage rates this morning.
Beige Book - is released two weeks ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) monetary policy meetings; the Fed relies heavily on this data during their FOMC meetings. It will be released at 2 pm this afternoon, so look for a potential market reaction to the release of the Beige Book during afternoon trading hours.
In other news, The Challenger Jobs Report indicated that "planned job cuts" declined to 42,000 in February, down 41% from 71,500 in January. This is the lowest number of "planned job cuts" since July 2006. John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas said: "It may be a couple of more months before hiring begins to surge, but it is clear that employers have shifted away from downsizing and are poised to start adding workers."
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. However, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 31st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have improved slightly this past week. However, if you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for BarnstableMA for March 2, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Barnstable, MA.
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 101.09 this morning - the same as yesterday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 100.95 - down 4/32 from its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 1-31-2010 to 3-2-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes down, the yield goes up - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be 0.125% - 0.250% worse in price this morning as compared to yesterday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
There are no economic reports scheduled for release today.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. However, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 31st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have improved slightly this past week. However, if you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for Mashpee MA for March 1, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Mashpee, MA.
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 101.09 this morning - the same as Friday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 101.09 - the same as its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 1-30-2010 to 3-1-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes up, the yield comes down - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be the same in price this morning as compared to Friday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Personal Income and Outlays Report - overall personal income increased just 0.1% in January, less than expected, and follows a gain of 0.4% in December. Consumer spending increased by 0.5%, more than expected, and follows a 0.2% increase in December. Analysts were expecting the report to reveal a 0.4% increase in income, and a 0.4% increase in spending. This report provides us with a measurement of the consumer's ability to spend and their current spending habits. Because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, any related data usually has an impact on the mortgage market and mortgage rates. This report had no impact on mortgage rates this morning.
Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Index - while still fairly strong, the growth in the manufacturing sector is down slightly in February with a reading of 56.5, worse than expected, and is worse than January's reading of 58.4. A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing sector expansion rather than contraction. This report had no impact on mortgage rates this morning.
Construction Spending Report - construction spending fell only 0.6% in January, not as bad as expected, and follows a revised 1.2% decline in December. Analysts were expecting a 0.8% decline in January. Year-to-year construction spending has declined 9.3%. This report had no impact on mortgage rates this morning.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. However, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 31st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have improved slightly this past week. However, if you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for FalmouthMA for February 26, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Falmouth, MA.
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 100.91 this morning - down 2/32 from yesterday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 101.06 - up 5/32 from its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 1-27-2010 to 2-26-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes up, the yield comes down - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be 0.125% - 0.250% better in price this morning as compared to yesterday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
First Revision to the 4th Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - the GDP in the 4th Quarter of 2009 grew at an annualized rate of 5.9%, the highest in 7 years. While this is good news, the growth is not expected to last. The increase in GDP is due primarily to an increase in inventories that were depleted last year, not from increased consumer spending. So far, this has been a jobless recovery, and unemployment in recent weeks has been increasing. As confidence remains low and unemployment remains high, it's not expected that consumers will be purchasing more goods again any time soon. While significant, the data usually does not have an impact on themortgage market or mortgage rates unless it varies greatly from forecasts.
University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment - a reading this morning of 73.6 indicates that consumer sentiment fell 7% this month. The reading was 74.4 in January. This index measures consumer willingness to spend and can usually have enough of an impact on the financial markets to change mortgage rates. While this report indicates that consumers are less likely to make purchases, it had no impact on the mortgage market this morning.
Existing Home Sales Report - released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), this report will provide us with a measurement of housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand. Existing home sales fell 7.2% in January, and follows a decline of 16.7% in December. Existing home sales fell to an annualized rate of 5.05 million in January, down from the annualized rate of 5.45 million in December. Meanwhile, the inventory of homes for sale increased from 6.5 months to 7.2 months. While significant, this data usually does not have an impact on the mortgage market.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. The Fed raised the discount rate last week by a 1/4 point. Also, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 31st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
If you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
Mortgage Rate Forecast for Sandwich MA for February 25, 2010
Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Sandwich, MA.
What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:
The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 100.69 this morning - the same as yesterday's close.
At 9:30, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 100.84 - up 5/32 from its opening.
Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:
The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 1-26-2010 to 2-25-2010:
Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes up, the yield comes down - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be 0.125% - 0.250% better in price this morning as compared to yesterday.
Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Durable Goods Orders Report - this report provides us with an important measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking orders for big-ticket items or products that are expected to last at least three years. There was a 3.0% increase in new durable goods orders in January, much more than the 1.5% increase that was expected. This follows a 0.2% increase in November and a revised 1.6% increase in December. This report shows that the manufacturing sector is gaining some momentum. However, when the transportation component is excluded, new durable goods orders actually fell 0.6% after a revised 2.0% gain in December. This report had no impact onmortgage rates this morning.
Jobless Claims - 496,000 new claims for unemployment were filed last week. This is 23,000 more than the previous week, 36,000 more than expected, and is the highest since last November. The four-week average for unemployment rose by 6,000 to 473,750, and continuing claims rose by 54,000 to 4.617 million. This suggests that the labor market is again getting worse. This data is usually not considered to be very important to the mortgage market; however, the increase in unemployment led to slightly lower mortgage rates this morning.
In other news, Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, delivered his report before the House Committee on Financial Services. Ben Bernanke reiterated his intentions to keep key interest rates low for the next several months.
Here is what Bernanke said about the discount rate:
"To discourage banks from relying on the discount window rather than private funding markets for short-term credit, last week we also increased the discount rate by 25 basis points.....These adjustments are not expected to lead to tighter financial conditions for households and businesses and should not be interpreted as signaling any change in the outlook for monetary policy, which remains about the same as it was at the time of the January meeting of the FOMC."
Here is what Bernanke said about jobs:
"Notwithstanding these positive signs, the job market remains quite weak, with the unemployment rate near 10 percent and job openings scarce. Of particular concern, because of its long-term implications for workers' skills and wages, is the increasing incidence of long-term unemployment; indeed, more than 40 percent of the unemployed have been out of work six months or more, nearly double the share of a year ago."
Yesterday, Ben Bernanke delivered his Semi-annual Monetary Policy Report before the House Committee on Financial Services. Watch Ed McKelvey, a senior economist at Goldman Sachs, share his reaction on CNBC on Ben Bernanke's Congressional testimony about monetary policy and the economy:
Ben Bernanke will deliver his Semi-annual Monetary Policy Report before the Senate Banking Committee today. But, it will be more of a Q&A session. According to analysts from Bank of Montreal (BMO), "The Q&A session will provide an opportunity to clarify issues that may have been misinterpreted by market participants. But really, the Chairman couldn't have been any clearer in saying that the Fed has no intention of raising policy rates for an ‘extended period'. And, given the sickening 11.2% plunge in new home sales to record lows in January, he's unlikely to stray from that message today."
The Treasure Dept. will be auctioning $32 billion in 7-Year Notestoday. The Notes and Bonds are used to finance the massive government debt. If there is a strong demand for the Notes, we should see the bond market move higher (resulting in lower mortgage rates) during afternoon trading. However, a lackluster interest from buyers, particularly international investors, would indicate a waning appetite for longer-term U.S. securities and lead to a broader selling in bonds and mortgage backed securities. The selling of mortgage backed securities could result in higher mortgage rates this afternoon.
What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:
Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are again off their historic lows. It appears that the overall economy is improving. The Fed raised the discount rate last week by a 1/4 point. Also, the Fed continues to auction Treasury Notes and Bonds to pay for the increasing massive government debt, all of which contributes to the fear of inflation. In addition, the Fed is winding down their purchases of mortgage backed securities which is slated to end on March 31st. As such, there's very little potential for lower mortgage rates.
If you have not yet locked in your mortgage rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional as mortgage rates can change for the worse - often without notice.
If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.
