Rate Lock Advisory

Wednesday, January 16th

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory with stocks showing sizable gains. The Dow is currently up 151 points while the Nasdaq has gained 48 points. The bond market is currently down 6/32 (2.73%), which should push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.

6/32

Bonds

30 yr - 2.73%

151

Dow

24,216

48

NASDAQ

7,072

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

  • 30 Year Fixed
  • 15 Year Fixed
  • 5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Medium

Neutral

Domestic Political Issues

There is no relevant economic data being released today. December’s Retails Sales report was scheduled but delayed due to the government shutdown. It is a very important measurement of consumer spending that often causes movement in the markets and mortgage rates. This particular release would have included highly important holiday shopping figures. We can consider this the biggest economic report to be affected by the shutdown so far. There will be another next week if there is no progress in Washington D.C. As the shutdown continues, it raises the possibility of the Fed and market traders not getting enough data to accurately gauge the status of the economy. The longer the shutdown goes on, the more impact it is going to have on the markets and mortgage rates.

Medium

Unknown

Fed Beige Book

The Federal Reserve will post their Beige Book at 2:00 PM ET this afternoon. This report is named simply after the color of its cover and details economic conditions throughout the U.S. by Fed region. Since the Fed relies heavily on this info during their FOMC meetings, its results can have a fairly big impact on the financial markets and mortgage rates if it reveals any surprises. Of particular interest is information regarding inflation, unemployment or future hiring. If there is a reaction to the report, it will come during mid-afternoon trading.

Low

Unknown

Weekly Unemployment Claims (every Thursday)

We will not get to see December’s Housing Starts (new home groundbreakings) tomorrow because of the shutdown. But we will get last week’s unemployment figures at 8:30 AM ET. It is expected to show that 221,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week, up from 216,000 the previous week. Rising claims are a sign of a softening employment sector, meaning the higher the number of initial filings, the better the news it is for mortgage rates. This is only a weekly snapshot, so its impact on mortgage rates is usually minimal at best. However, with more reports being delayed, we could see a bit stronger reaction to these results than we usually do.

Float / Lock Recommendation

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.