Friday, June 24th
Friday’s bond market has opened relatively flat following mixed economic news. Stocks are in rally mode this morning with the Dow up 599 points and the Nasdaq up 291 points. The bond market is currently down 1/32 (3.09%), but weakness late yesterday is going to cause this morning’s mortgage rates to be higher by approximately .250 of a discount point.
1/32
Bonds
30 yr - 3.09%
599
Dow
31,277
291
NASDAQ
11,542
Trailing 90 Days - National Average
Low
Negative
The Commerce Department released May’s New Home Sales report at 10:00 AM ET this morning. It showed that sales of newly constructed homes jumped 10.7%, exceeding forecasts. The stronger number is a sign of strength in the housing sector, making the report bad news for rates. However, this report covers just a small portion of all home sales in the U.S., limiting its impact on today’s rates.
Medium
Positive
Also posted late this morning was the University of Michigan’s revised Index of Consumer Sentiment for June. They announced a 50.0 reading that was a slight downward change from the preliminary 50.2 that was posted two weeks ago. The downward revision isn’t enough of a change to mean that much, but the fact we saw a nice decline from May’s 58.4 is a sign that consumers a less confident about their own financial situations and are likely to spend less. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy and bonds tend to thrive in weaker economic conditions, we can consider this report good news for mortgage rates.
High
Unknown
Next week has a full calendar of economic releases and Treasury auctions that may affect mortgage rates, including a couple reports that carry elevated importance. The week starts off with one of those releases when May’s Durable Goods Orders report is posted, followed by results of the 5-year Treasury Note auction during afternoon hours. It closes with a very important manufacturing report Friday morning. 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 was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock 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.