Some Fed members are speaking as well and the market is always listening for good or bad updates from Europe.

Economic Calendar for Week of January 9, 2012

• Monday - Consumer Credit
• Tuesday - Wholesale Trade
• Wednesday - EIA Petroleum Status Report, Beige Book
• Thursday - Jobless Claims, Retail Sales, Treasury Budget
• Friday - International Trade, Consumer Sentiment, Import & Export Prices

Should I Lock Now or Wait?

Since mortgage rates are very close to their all time historical lows, there is likely much more to gain by locking now then by waiting. It only takes one piece of news to push rates up and when they move up, they move much faster than they move down. That being said, the market may have changed by the time you’ve read this, so calling us is the most sure way to get the most up to the date guidance in whether locking makes sense for you and what loan program best fits your needs.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meets

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met this week and as expected, they left key short term interest rates alone. The Fed Funds Rate (the rate at which banks lend money to each other) is still at 0.000% to 0.250%. The committee has said it believes the economy is growing moderately and that employment will continue to improve, albeit at a slower than desirable pace.

The FOMC also indicated that there are some areas of concern that might affect the US Economy moving forward such as slowing in global growth and concerns in business investment.

Mortgage Rates Moving Forward

Will rates be higher or lower next week? The truth is that nobody knows. We do know that since we are at all time historic lows, there is limited upside in waiting for rates to improve. On the other hand, there is substantial risk that rates will move higher if you wait.

Should you lock now? What is the best program for your needs? We can answer these questions and more with a free consultation where we can put together a strategy to that best fits your unique needs.

Putting Mortgage Rates Into Perspective

Since it is quite easy to hear how low mortgage rates are but not understand how low they are in a historical context, we have been hard at work creating some charts that we will be releasing in the coming weeks documenting the history of mortgage rates. Sometimes it take a chart to truly understand how low and historic the mortgage market we are in is.

Economic Calendar for Week of December 12, 2011

• Monday - Treasury Budget
• Tuesday - Retail Sales, Business Inventories, FOMC Meeting Announcement
• Wednesday - Import and Export Prices
• Thursday - Jobless Claims, Producer Price Index, Industrial Production, Philadelphia Fed Survey

Mortgage Rates and the Best Program For Your Needs

We commonly speak with homeowners that are confused about which program is best for them or what size loan they qualify for. We also find that many are confused about rate locks and when and if they should lock in their mortgage rate.

If you need a free professional consultation to put together a mortgage strategy that fits your needs the best, we can help. Now is a critical time to learn about your options if you are on the fence or unsure about what move, if any, you should make in regards to refinancing your existing or locking in a rate for a new mortgage. Mortgage rates are at historical all time lows, don’t miss the opportunity to take advantage of this unique market!

Since investors move money from equities into bonds in times of uncertainty, the end result is that mortgage rates just don’t get any better than where they are at. This means that the question is not if, but when mortgage rates will move up. The general expectation is that when they do move up, they will do so swiftly.

The Ben Bernanke Watch is On

All eyes are on Ben Bernanke this week, with the widely held expectation that he will announce additional measures to help stimulate the economy. Bernanke will be speaking on Friday at the Kansas City Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In a spooked and volatile market like this, the week ahead may very well be jumpy as rumor and speculation about what Bernanke may or may not say are likely to abound.

Economic Calendar for Week of August 22, 2011

• Monday – Global Central Bankers Conference
  
• Tuesday – Redbook, New Home Sales
• Wednesday – Durable Goods Orders
• Thursday – Fed Balance Sheet, Money Supply, Initial Jobless Claims
• Friday -  Ben Bernanke speaks, GDP, Consumer Sentiment

Turbulent. Volatile. New Record Low Mortgage Rates.

Last Week Was Marked By:

1. Increased concern over the stability of European markets
2. The S&P downgrade of the United States’ credit rating
3. A less than positive outlook from the Fed, which decided to keep the existing Fed Funds Rate at its existing rate
4. Volatile movement in the markets with the Dow losing over 600 points in a single day
5. Consumer confidence reaching the lowest level since May of 1980

What Will Mortgage Rates Do This Week?

Will rates go up, down or stay the same this week? The truth is that nobody knows where rates will be tomorrow or even later today. This is a VOLATILE market and the opportunity to take advantage of these low rates can and very well may likely disappear in a handful of hours as a fast move up is expected when they do move. Now is the time to lock in record low rates, holding off on a lock now is gambling.

Economic Calendar for Week of August 15, 2011

• Monday: Housing Market Index, Dennis Lockhart from the Fed speaks
• Tuesday: Housing Starts, Building Permits
• Wednesday: Producer Price Index, Richard Fisher from the Fed speaks
• Thursday: Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales, William Dudley from the Fed speaks
• Friday: William Dudley and Sandar Pianalto from the Fed speak

The minutes didn’t drop any bombshells that have had any significant immediate impact on mortgage rates, but did provide useful insight on how the Fed will be adjusting its activities, which will affect how mortgage rates move in the future. The market and mortgage rates as a whole were largely unmoved release of the minutes.

The Fed overview on the current state of the market shows that recovery has been slower than expected and that housing prices remain depressed, both factors holding back the overall recovery of the economy.

From the June 2011 FOMC Minutes:

Activity in the housing market remained depressed, as both weak demand and the sizable inventory of foreclosed or distressed properties continued to hold back new construction. Starts and permits of new single-family homes were essentially unchanged in April and May, and they stayed near the very low levels seen since the middle of last year. Sales of new and existing homes remained at subdued levels in recent months, while measures of home prices fell further.

Since the Fed sets monetary policy and participates in other activities such as buying Treasury debt, their activities can significantly impact the mortgage rates and the economy as a whole. As the Fed has implemented various policies to help push the economy out of recession, maintaining these policies for an extended period of time can do more damage than good. The June minutes provided some insight into how the Fed will unwind or exit some of these policies moving forward.

Fed Exit Strategy Principles

1. The Fed will raise the Fed Funds Rate (the rate at which banks lend each other money overnight)
2. The Fed will stop buying Treasury Debt (they are currently reinvesting the proceeds on existing obligations)
3. The Fed will sell its holdings in mortgage-backed securities

Since rates are currently at very low levels, there is a lot more room for rates to go up then go down. That means that now is a great time to inquire about whether your existing mortgage is the best fit for you or to learn about your options if you are considering purchasing a home.

The second positive event was that the Federal Open Market Committee left the Fed Funds Rate (interest rate at which depository institutions lend balances at the Federal Reserve to other depository institutions) unchanged at .000% – .250% while lowering it expectations of growth in the future for the US economy. While the expectations growth outlook was not positive news for the economy as a whole, it is good for mortgage rates, which move lower in times of economic uncertainty or turmoil.

Economic Calendar for Week of June 27, 2011

• Monday – Personal Income & Outlays Report for May, Kocherlakota and Koenig from the Fed speak, 2 Year Treasure Note Auction
  
• Tuesday – Case-Shiller 20-city Index, 5 Year Treasure Note Auction
• Wednesday – Consumer Confidence, Pending Home Sales, 7 Year Treasure Note Auction
• Thursday – Initial Jobless Claims
• Friday – Construction Spending

Not sure if you are in the best mortgage for your needs? We can give you the information you need to decide which options make the most sense for your current or future mortgage. Mortgage rates have continued to maintained low levels for months, creating a great opportunity to lock in a low rate on new home purchases or refinances, now is a great time to take advantage of low rates before they inevitably begin to move higher.

For home shoppers and those that have not yet refinanced their homes, the current mortgage rate environment is extremely favorable despite expectations that rates would have gone higher by now. For mortgage shoppers on the fence, now may be a great time to take advantage of low rates before they make an inevitable move upward in the coming days, weeks and months.

Economic Calendar For the Week of June 13, 2011

• Monday: Lacker & Fisher from the Fed speak
• Tuesday : Producer Price Index (PPI), Retail Sales, Business Inventories
• Wednesday : Consumer Price Index, Housing Market Index
• Thursday : Housing Starts, Initial Jobless Claims
• Friday : Consumer Sentiment, Leading Economic Indicators

Disappointing Economic Data is Good For Mortgage Rates

The big news last week affecting mortgage rates was a disappointing employment report. Analysts had expected 150,000 new jobs to be created, while data came in showing that only 54,000 new jobs were actually created. There was also a higher than expected number of jobless claims, which was yet the latest in a series of reports indicating that the overall economy is weaker than had been hoped.

While the disappointing economic data continues to paint a picture of long term weakness in the overall economy, it bodes well for help mortgage rates to sustain their existing levels and even set new lows. While there has been concern that low mortgage rates could not continue at their existing levels for much longer, the data of last week has bought more time for on the fence home buyers and homeowners considering refinancing their existing mortgage.

Economic Calendar for Week of June 6, 2011

1. Monday: Fischer and Plosser from the Fed speak
   
2. Tuesday: Lockhart from the Fed speaks, Consumer Credit
3. Wednesday: Fed Beige Book, Hoenig from the Fed speaks
4. Thursday: Plosser from the Fed speaks, Initial Jobless Claims
   
5. Friday: Dudley from the Fed speaks

As the Real Estate and financial markets continue to move up and down, mortgage rates can also be affected. Since mortgage rates are more closely tied to the bond markets, an up or down move in the stock market may not have the result in mortgage rates that one might expects. In fact, many times the resulting mortgage rate changes are counter-intuitive.

More importantly, rates change daily and they can change quickly. Some mortgage professionals have recently noted that their rate quotes have only had shelf lives of three to four hours before market changes have deemed them inaccurate.

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How does a consumer navigate fast changing markets in order to refinance their existing loan or purchase a home with the most favorable terms possible?

1. Plan – Define your needs ahead of time, do not wait until the last minute. This is especially true of home purchases.
2. Consult – Talk to your mortgage professional on a regular basis so they can interpret recent market events to you and communicate how those events can affect you.
3. Execute – When you have defined your needs and have determined that now is the best time to move forward, don’t shop yourself out of a good loan! What does this mean? It is easy to get caught up in shopping for the best rate, but it is not uncommon for home owners to miss locking their loan at a great rate because they are in search of better rates that do not exist or that they do not qualify for. It is important to shop to insure you are getting the best rate possible, but set limits to the number of companies you are going to consider doing business with and be careful of having your credit report needlessly and more times than is necessary!