Rate Lock Advisory

Friday, November 22th

Friday’s bond market has opened in positive territory again following favorable economic data. Stocks are mixed with the Dow up 255 points and the Nasdaq down 12 points. The bond market is currently up 5/32 (4.40%), but a bit of weakness late yesterday is going to keep this morning’s mortgage rates close to Thursday’s early pricing. If you saw an intraday increase yesterday afternoon, you should see an improvement in this morning’s pricing of about the same size.

5/32

Bonds

30 yr - 4.40%

255

Dow

44,125

12

NASDAQ

18,959

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

  • 30 Year Fixed
  • 15 Year Fixed
  • 5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Medium

Positive

Univ of Mich Consumer Sentiment (Rev)

Today’s sole relevant economic news came from the University of Michigan, who said their revised November Index of Consumer Sentiment stood at 71.8. This was lower than the initial estimate of 73.0, indicating surveyed consumers did not feel as confident about their own financial situations as previously thought. We can consider the lower reading good news for bonds and mortgage rates because waning confidence usually translates into softer consumer spending numbers. That category makes up over two-thirds of the U.S. economy, so weaker consumer spending often limits overall economic growth and helps to make bonds more attractive to investors.

High

Unknown

Inflation News

Next week is shortened by the Thanksgiving Day holiday yet still has a large number of scheduled events that we will be watching. There are a handful of relevant economic releases, including two that are considered to be highly important. One of those is the Fed’s preferred inflation readings. In addition to the data, there are also a couple of Treasury auctions and the release of the minutes from this month’s FOMC meeting. All of those activities come over just two days with nothing scheduled Monday or Friday and the markets closed for Thursday’s holiday. Look for details on all of next week’s activities in Sunday evening’s weekly preview.

Float / Lock Recommendation

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.