Mortgage Bonds and Rates had a good week as the 4% coupon gained back nearly 100bp closing at 104.75 up 9bp. Today’s weaker than expected Empire State Index helped to support Bonds.
The Dow (15,961.70, +85.48) and the S&P (1,798.18, +7.56) both closed at record highs as the printing presses at the Federal Reserve rage on. The Nasdaq gained 13.22 points to 3,985.96. Next week’s economic calendar is packed with a broad array of data that will encompass a large portion of the U.S. economy. I recommend floating interest rates, not locking into rates at this time.
Weekly Survey of Rates from the Mortgage Bankers Association
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 4.44 percent, the highest level in a month, from 4.32 percent, with points increasing to 0.44 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) increased to 4.48 percent, the highest level in a month, from 4.37 percent, with points increasing to 0.34 from 0.26 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.52 percent, the highest level in a month, from 3.44 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
Housing News
Despite Improvements, Housing Remains Fragile
Although the market has exhibited strong improvement in home prices, purchases of new homes and sales of existing homes, officials caution that the overall recovery remains fragile. Read more
Mortgage Delinquency Rates Improve Across the Nation
The housing market continued to heal as the national mortgage delinquency rate plummeted 4.09% in the third quarter, a drop of more than 23.3% when compared to the same time period last year, according to TransUnion’s quarterly report. The mortgage delinquency rate dropped on a quarterly basis, 5.33% from 4.32% — the seventh straight quarterly decline. Read more
Economic News
Weekly claims for state unemployment benefits totaled 339,000, compared with economists’ expectations of a drop to 331,000. Meanwhile, in separate reports, the September U.S. trade deficit came in at $41.78 billion, compared with a forecast of $38.8 billion, while third-quarter productivity rose by 1.9 percent, compared with expectations of a 2.4 percent increase.
The Empire State Manufacturing Index falls by -2.2 in October, below the 4.3 expected.
Sources: CNBC, Bloomberg, MBA, Housingwire, MMG