March 17th, 2023 10:34 AM by T. Fanning
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you have a great day and weekend!
It was a rollercoaster week for rates. Overall, rates ended lower than last Friday’s numbers. Next week only has a couple of relevant economic reports for us to watch, but there is also a Treasury auction and the second FOMC meeting of the year that will include revised economic projections from the Fed. The week starts off light with nothing of importance taking place Monday. We can expect weekend headlines, possibly regarding bank concerns, to drive trading as the new week begins.*
We offer Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Jumbo and regular construction financing. Some of our niches include: Chenoa Fund loans (100% FHA financing); Conventional, FHA and VA 1x Close Construction-Perm; 1.50% Down FHA Advantage Program; CHFA Financing; HomeStyle renovation program; and a Jumbo, 5% down program. We can also do non-traditional programs! To see a detailed list of programs, visit our website: www.homeloanmortgageco.com/mortgageprograms
Last Updated: 3/17/23
Friday's bond market has opened well in positive territory to erase a good part of yesterday's midday losses. Stocks are mixed with the Dow down 145 points and the Nasdaq up 42 points. The bond market is currently up 30/32 (3.46%), but that weakness late yesterday caused widespread intraday upward revisions to mortgage rates. This morning's gains are simply offsetting that revision, to bring mortgage rates back to Thursday's early pricing.
The first of this morning's batch of economic releases was February's Industrial Production report at 9:15 AM ET. It revealed that output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities was unchanged from January's level. This was softer than the 0.5% increase that was expected, hinting at a slowing manufacturing sector. That allows us to label the report favorable for bonds and mortgage rates.
March's initial Index of Consumer Sentiment from the University of Michigan came at 10:00 AM ET, announced at 63.4 compared to the 67.2 that was expected. The lower reading and decline from February means surveyed consumers didn't feel as good about their own financial situations as analysts had thought. Since declining sentiment usually translates into softer levels of consumer spending that is a huge part of the U.S. economy, we can consider the report good news for mortgage rates.
Closing out this week's activities was February's Leading Economic Indicators (LEI), also at 10:00 AM ET. The Conference Board, a New York-based business research group and not a governmental agency, said the indicators fell 0.3%. These indicators attempt to predict economic activity over the next three to six months, meaning they are pointing towards a slower economy. As a sign of economic weakness, this data is also if good news for rates.
Next week only has a couple of relevant economic reports for us to watch, but there is also a Treasury auction and the second FOMC meeting of the year that will include revised economic projections from the Fed. The week starts off light with nothing of importance taking place Monday. We can expect weekend headlines, possibly regarding bank concerns, to drive trading as the new week begins. Look for details on all of 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... Float 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.*
*https://www.homeloanmortgageco.com/DailyRateLockAdvisory
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