interest rate

Mortgage Rate Update 8/14/09

August 16, 2009

Tame inflation data, strong demand for the Treasury auctions, and a lack of surprises from the Fed were all positive for mortgage markets, and mortgage rates ended the week lower. As expected, the Fed held the fed funds rate steady on Wednesday, and its statement contained few changes. The Fed suggested that economic activity is [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 8/7/09

August 7, 2009

With just minor exceptions, all of the economic data released this week beat the consensus forecast, indicating that the economy is improving more quickly than expected. While current inflation levels remain low, faster economic growth generally leads to higher future inflation, which is negative for mortgage rates. As a result, mortgage rates ended the week [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 7/24/09

July 26, 2009

While the economic data released during the week generally matched expectations, the outlook for future economic growth improved due to strong earnings reports, tame inflation data, and a revised forecast from the Fed. Stronger economic growth was good news for the stock market, and the Dow rose over 500 points. It was unfavorable for the [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 7/10/09

July 11, 2009

With a light schedule for economic data, Treasury auctions had the greatest impact on mortgage rates during the week. Strong demand for the auctions and declines in the stock market helped mortgage rates end the week lower. In recent months, mortgage rates have been heavily influenced by concerns about the enormous amount of debt the [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 6/12/09

June 13, 2009

The sharp rise in mortgage rates in recent weeks has dampened what had been a boom in mortgage refinancing and has threatened to squelch signs of a budding recovery in the housing market. However, there is disagreement among Fed officials as to whether additional stimulus is needed. Some believe more should be done to help [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 6/5/09

June 5, 2009

Mortgage rates continue to push upwards, including CHFA rates, which have been holding below 5% for some time.. There is growing concern that a rapidly declining appetite for US government debt will increasingly make it difficult for the Federal Reserve to hold down mortgage rates. Making matters worse for rates is the growing discussion of [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 5/15/2009

May 15, 2009

After several weeks of improving economic forecasts, weaker than expected economic data this week tempered some of the optimism for a near-term recovery, which was favorable for mortgage markets. Tame inflation data and sustained Fed purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) also helped. As a result, mortgage rates fell moderately during the week. (CHFA rates also [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 4/3/09

April 3, 2009

Mortgage rates seem ready to stabilize for an extended period of time, and our rates this week remain unchanged from last week. The stock market ended the quarter on another down cycle and corporations struggle through another tough quarter. This contributed to some additional improvement in mortgage rates early in the week, but returning to [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 3/20/09

March 21, 2009

There was some excitement today as rates in some areas dipped as low as 4.75%, but it seemed to be short-lived. Rates here continue to hold their sideways pattern, and should continue to do so for the foreseeable future, but at least the 30-year is at an even 5 percent.  The Fed buying long-term treasuries [...]

Read the full article →

Mortgage Rate Update 3/13/09

March 14, 2009

Mortgage rates received tremendous upward pressure this week, but they recovered to flat, and actually have ticked down a bit. The multi-day stock market rally and some strong economic indicator surprises, like retails sales and inventories, have pushed on MBS yields. However, unemployment numbers, home sales, and housing prices all showing strong negative results will [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →