Mortgage Market Update
Mortgage Market Update- February 24, 2013
This week it appeared the mortgage market was going to sleep for a good part of the week. There was not very much action during the week thanks in large part to the holiday on Monday followed by a lack of real economic news throughout the week. However, in spite of the lackadaisical week, the mortgage market did close slightly higher. The overall rates are up after reaching their all-time lows in October of 2012.
Another piece of news that showed up late in the week was that while foreclosures are dropping significantly, in fact lower than they have been since 2008, the number of 90-day delinquencies has increased. In spite of the increase, they still remain down almost a full basis point than they were last year at this time.
The upcoming week
This week the market will be watching closely to listen to comments by Chairman Ben Bernanke as he testifies on Tuesday and Wednesday. In spite of the current stand-off in Washington regarding the upcoming sequester, the overall market has either “baked” the sequester into the numbers or the market overall feels that a compromise will be reached.
This week will be a busy one for economic news. On Tuesday, the house price index will be released along with consumer confidence numbers. The Manufacturing Index numbers will also be released on Tuesday. There is a lot of news that may impact the overall mortgage market this week:
Tuesday:
FHFA house Price Index
New Home Sales
Consumer Confidence
Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
State Street Investor Confidence Index
Wednesday:
Pending Home Sales Index
Let’s not forget that Tuesday and Wednesday we will also hear from Fed Chair Bernanke. It is largely expected that his talk will change nothing as it is widely expected he will simply talk about “keeping things as they are”. Any deviation from this may impact rates
Thursday:
GDP Numbers
Jobless Claims
Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index
Friday:
Motor Vehicle Sales
Personal Income and Outlays
PMI Manufacturing Index
Consumer Sentiment
Construction Spending
Currently, popular wisdom dictates that anyone anticipating closing on a mortgage in the next 14 days should consider locking in their rate. Right now, it does not appear that we will see lower rates any time soon simply because many of the economic indicators are working against the mortgage market.
If you are uncertain about whether or not to refinance your home or if you are considering buying a home, call Core Mortgage Financial. With the amount of economic data that is available, we will help you evaluate your options based on our knowledge of the mortgage market and our understanding of how the upcoming economic news is likely to impact mortgage rates overall.
NMLS #1743702 Rates, Programs, Guidelines are subject to change without notice