August 4th, 2017 10:57 AM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 8/4/17Friday's bond market has opened in negative territory following stronger than expected employment data. The stock markets aren't having too much of a reaction to the data with the Dow up 14 points and the Nasdaq down 7 points. The bond market is currently down 18/32 (2.28%), but strength late yesterday should keep the increase in this morning's mortgage rates to approximately .125 of a discount point if comparing to Thursday's early pricing. If your lender revised rates lower intraday yesterday, you will see more of an increase this morning.Today's big news was July's Employment report that showed the U.S. unemployment rate slipped to 4.3% and that 209,000 new payrolls were added last month. The 0.1% improvement in the unemployment rate was expected, but the payroll number exceeded forecasts of 181,000 while June's payroll number was revised upward by 9,000. The earnings reading came in at up 0.3%, pegging expectations, and there were no revisions to June's earnings.Overall, the dip in the unemployment rate is uneventful as it will not have an impact on rates because it comes as no surprise. The earnings increase also was expected, preventing it from coming into play. However, the payroll numbers indicate the employment sector was a little stronger last month than many had thought, making the data bad news for bonds and mortgage rates.Next week starts off slow with little scheduled the first couple days that is likely to influence mortgage rates. Monday has nothing set for release, so we can expect weekend news and stocks to have the biggest impact on rates as the week begins. There are a couple of economic releases later in the week that are important to the bond market though. Look for details on all of next week's activities 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...Lock 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
Do you have a question? We can help. Simply fill out the form below and we'll contact you with the answer, with no obligation to you. We guarantee your privacy.