Rate Lock Advisory

Friday, August 12th

Friday’s bond market has opened in positive territory despite unfavorable economic news. Stocks are also looking to close the week with gains, pushing the Dow up 97 points and the Nasdaq up 94 points. The bond market is currently up 10/32 (2.85%), but heavy selling yesterday afternoon is going to cause this morning’s mortgage rates to be approximately .250 of a discount point higher than Thursday’s early pricing. If you saw an intraday increase before closing yesterday, you should get part of that upward move back in this morning’s rates.

10/32

Bonds

30 yr - 2.85%

97

Dow

33,434

94

NASDAQ

12,874

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

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

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Medium

Positive

Treasury Auctions (5,7,10,20,30 year)

Yesterday’s 30-year Treasury Bond auction drew a very strong demand from investors. Nearly all of the benchmarks showed a high level of interest in the sale, indicating a good appetite for long-term securities. This is good news for the overall bond market and mortgage rates. The weakness in bonds and upward revision to mortgage pricing late yesterday were not due to this auction. Bonds were already moving lower (yields higher) long before the auction results were announced at 1:00 PM ET.

Medium

Negative

Univ of Mich Consumer Sentiment (Prelim)

Today’s only economic report was the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for August at 10:00 AM ET. It came in at 55.1, up from July’s 51.5 and higher than it was expected to be. The noticeable increase means surveyed consumers felt better about their own financial situations than they did last month. We can consider that unfavorable news for bonds and mortgage rates because rising confidence usually translates into stronger consumer spending numbers that fuel economic growth.

Medium

Unknown

None

Next week brings us a handful of events that may influence mortgage rates. They include a couple pieces of housing data and a major consumer spending report that is released the same day as the minutes from the last FOMC meeting. There is nothing of importance scheduled for Monday or next Friday, leaving the middle part of the week the days we need to be concerned with. Look for details on all of next week’s activities in Sunday evening’s weekly preview.

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.