Headed into the weekend it may be wise to think of short-term locking into Mortgage Rates given that pricing has improved over the past two days. Stocks were down Friday but some of that was due to year-end tax selling. If a deal is struck sometime next week in the cliff saga, short term, you could see a rally in stocks and a pullback in Bond prices which will move Mortgage Rates higher.
Remember that Mortgage Rates are tied to Bond prices. Mortgage rates rise when the price of Bonds move lower. We closely monitor the Bond market daily and advise our clients of the most oppotune time to lock the rate on a home loan.
Bonds spent the session in positive territory after the failed talks in Washington led Stocks lower. Mixed economic data didn’t have much of an impact on trading today with better than expected income and spending and durables with lower consumer sentiment and tame inflation. The 3% coupon only wound up with a 12bp gain at 104.56 and finished near the lower end of the day’s trading range after being up by 34bp earlier in the session. The Dow dropped 120.88 points to 13,190.84, the S&P fell 13.54 points to 1,430.15, the Nasdaq settled at 3,021.01 down 29.38 points. Our offices are closed on Monday and Tuesday for the holiday. We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas.
Bank of America & Citibank Don’t Want Your Mortgage Business » Bloomberg
Mortgage originators may be making money on loans today, but Bank of America and Citigroup are noticeably absent from the line-up of firms that are using new momentum in the mortgage market to drive profits… Read the Full Story
Government Study Blows Up the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB)
A MUST WATCH FOR EVERY CONSUMER
Housing News
Property Values Continue to Gain Momentum
Home prices in the U.S. were up for the eighth consecutive month in October by 0.4%, leading to a total appreciation rate of 5.1% year to date. On the other hand, foreclosures dropped from 26.7% at the beginning of the year to 17.6% in October. See the full Index
RE/MAX: Home Sales Up In November
November home sales saw the second-highest year-over-year increase this year, with a 15.7% rise from last November, according to new data from RE/MAX. RE/MAX reports that the median price for homes sold in November was $163,750, up 3.6% from October and 6.9% higher than the price seen in November 2011.
Housing Starts Down In November
Single-family housing starts in November were at a rate of 565,000, which is 4.1% below the revised October figure of 589,000, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000, which is 3% below the revised October estimate of 888,000 but 21.6% above the November 2011 rate of 708,000.
Sources: MMG, Housingwire,Bloomberg,CNBC