February 24th, 2017 12:54 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 2/24/17Friday's bond market has opened in positive territory with stocks showing early weakness. The major indexes are posting moderate losses of 58 points in the Dow and 22 points in the Nasdaq. The bond market is currently up 12/32 (2.33%), which should improve this morning's mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.There were two 10:00 AM ET economic reports posted this morning. The Commerce Department announced that sales of newly constructed homes rose 3.7% last month, falling short of expectations. The fact we saw an increase in sales indicates strength in the new home portion of the housing sector. However, since the increase was not as much as analysts were expecting to see, we can consider the data neutral to slightly favorable for mortgage rates.Also posted this morning was the University of Michigan's revised Index of Consumer Sentiment for February. It came in at 96.3, exceeding forecasts of 95.8. This means that more surveyed consumers felt better about their own financial and employment situations than many had thought. Because rising confidence usually means consumers are more willing to spend, this is slightly negative news for bonds and mortgage pricing.Next week brings us the release of a handful of reports that may influence mortgage rates, some of which are pretty important to the markets. We won't get the Employment report but will get the ISM manufacturing index next week. Monday does have a release and its one of the more important reports we get each month (Durable Goods Orders). Look for details on next week's calendar in Sunday evening's weekly preview.If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would....Lock if my closing were taking place within 7 days...Lock if my closing were taking place between 8 and 20 days...Lock if my closing were taking place between 21 and 60 days...Float if my closing were taking place over 60 days from now...This is only my opinion of what I would do if I was financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.**http://www.hlmcolorado.com/DailyRateAdvisory
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