Rate Update

We just haven’t been able to hold onto the positive gains from last week. There is another range of resistance that we are bumping against.

Interesting news from the economy. First numbers came out today that shows that the decline of home prices is slowing in the 20 largest US cities. This may mean we are near the bottom on house prices. Secondly Consumer-Confidence came in lower than expected, indicating that consumers optimism in May was short lived.

I recommend locking today.

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Rate Update

Mortgage bonds came back in a big way yesterday, the comments from the Fed weren’t as inflationary as they could have been and this was a positive for both the stock and bond markets.

Also Personal Income and the Personal Savings rate went up in June this should help the markets as well. The savings rate has climbed to the highest level since December of 1993.

I recommend locking today and taking the gains of yesterday. Next week is a big vacation week and weird things tend to happen on a holiday week.

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Rate Update

Both bonds and stocks are almost flat today. We are in this strange 200 day moving average on both markets and it is creating a little bit of a stalemate.

There is speculation that the Fed will buy more bonds after their two day meetings that started today. This could give some short term relief to mortgage rates.

I recommend floating, and advise everyone that if the Fed gets us back below 5% not to wait around on something lower. At some point we are going to have inflation issues and those days are coming soon.

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Rate Update

Well the volatility in bonds has continued. The main issue is inflation which we talked about earlier in the week and also the amount of bonds that are out there on the market. The Fed continues to purchase Mortgage bonds, however they aren’t having a big affect at this point.

The wild ride will continue next week. For today I recommend floating, and will keep you updated.

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Rate Update

Well its been a crazy couple of weeks. Mortgage rates have fluctuated more than 1 point. We have settled between 5.25 and 5.5%. I anticipate staying in this range for the next 90 days or so. Right now the stock and bond markets are directly related. If the stock market rises then money is coming out of bonds and rates are going up. The opposite is also happening.

In other news Housing starts rose in May and came in better than expectations, this is a very good sign for the economy.

Today I recommend floating, however stay tuned because things could change rapidly.

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Rate Update

This mornings Jobs Report came in far better than expectations and the previous two months' job losses the numbers were revised down to show smaller declines. This is a good sign, but there will be more negative economic news before we are out of the woods. Despite the positive news the official Unemployment Rate--which is regarded as a more reliable indication of the employment situation--actually came in higher from 8.9% in April to 9.4% in May.

Because of this positive news we have taken another hit on Mortgage Bonds. Meanwhile stocks are up on the day. However we are up against a ceiling on Stocks and they could start to move lower. This would be positive for bonds and interest rates.

I recommend locking until we have some clarity on things.

All of this volatility has driven me to go on a short vacation, I will be out of the office June 8th thru 12th. However feel free to contact my partner Rudy Verdes at 972-665-1900 if you need anything. Have a great weekend.

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Rate Update

Mortgage bonds are falling again this morning as continued auctions of bonds are weakening the value of the dollar. It was announced an hour ago that the auction today would be smaller than originally planned, however it hasn’t helped bond prices yet today.

Jobless claims came in at expectations.

I recommend floating today, however be ready to pull the lock trigger.

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