Massachusetts Mortgage Broker Blog

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The Massachusetts Mortgage Broker Blog is the creation of a real honest-to-goodness Massachusetts mortgage broker here to help you. As a nationally acclaimed mortgage professional certified by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, my passion is to educate and empower consumers like you so you make an informed decision when shopping for a mortgage.

So take advantage of this website and stay up-to-date with the latest Massachusetts mortgage news below by reading the Massachusetts Mortgage Broker Blog daily. And if you find this information to be of value to you, please consider contacting me for your mortgage needs.

I strive to provide the most valuable, friendliest service around and would love the opportunity to take care of you.

P.S. I am also licensed in several other states and can offer extremely competitive Connecticut mortgage rates, Florida mortgage rates, New Hampshire mortgage rates, Rhode Island mortgage rates and Washington state mortgage rates as well as refer you to other expert mortgage professionals elsewhere.

Mortgage Commentary for Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Trends

Subscribe here to have Massachusetts mortgage rates updates delivered to your inbox automatically.

Friday’s bond market has opened in negative territory with no relevant economic data being posted this morning, erasing a good part of yesterday’s afternoon strength. The stock markets are relatively flat with the Dow up 7 points and the Nasdaq up 1 point. The bond market is currently down 8/32, but due to strength late yesterday we should still see an improvement of approximately .125 of a discount point in current Massachusetts mortgage rates.

Bond prices moved higher during afternoon trading yesterday, causing some lenders to improve their rates intra-day. If your lender did post revised pricing yesterday afternoon, you may see little change or a slight increase in this morning’s rates. However, if your lender waited until this morning to reflect that afternoon improvement, you should see slightly lower Massachusetts mortgage rates compared to yesterday morning.

There is nothing of relevance scheduled for release today, so I would not be surprised to see a fairly calm day in bond trading, assuming the stock markets don’t rally or go into selling mode. If the major stock indexes move noticeably higher than current levels, we may see bond prices worsen, likely leading to upward revisions to Massachusetts mortgage rates later today. On the other hand, if the Dow and Nasdaq fall well into negative ground, we could see the bond market recover this morning’s early losses and Massachusetts mortgage rates move slightly lower.

Next week doesn’t bring us any major economic reports or other events that are likely to be highly influential to bond trading and Massachusetts mortgage pricing. There is a handful of relevant economic reports scheduled in addition to two semi-important Treasury auctions, but none of them are considered to be highly important to the markets. None of the reports are scheduled for release Monday, so weekend news and Monday’s early stock trading will likely drive bond trading and Massachusetts mortgage rates that day. Look for details on next week’s events in Sunday’s weekly preview.

Lock or Float Advice for Current Massachusetts Mortgage Rates

If I were considering purchasing or refinancing a home and predicting likely Massachusetts mortgage rates, 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 a general opinion of what I would do if I were considering whether to lock or float based on Massachusetts mortgage rate trends. Your individual situation may be different.

Copyright : Mortgage Commentary

Mortgage Commentary for Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Trends

Subscribe here to have Massachusetts mortgage rates updates delivered to your inbox automatically.

Thursday’s bond market has opened flat despite a weaker than expected economic report. The stock markets opened in negative territory but have since improved off their earlier lows. The Dow is currently down 9 points while the Nasdaq has lost only 7 points. The bond market is currently unchanged from yesterday’s close, but we will still may see a slight improvement in current Massachusetts mortgage rates due to strength late yesterday.

Yesterday’s afternoon release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting didn’t reveal any major surprises but did indicate that there is concern about the economy and fiscal issues late next year. They hinted that the Fed may be prepared to do something to help boost economic growth if the economy does not pick up momentum on its own. The leading ideas are a QE3 program or extending the current campaign of swapping short-term holdings to long-term debt, known as Operation Twist. The renewed optimism about more stimulus coming from the Fed helped boost bond prices late yesterday and caused some lenders to slightly improve Massachusetts mortgage rates.

There were two pieces of economic data posted this morning. The first came from the Labor Department, who announced that 370,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week. This matched the previous week’s revised total, meaning there was no change from two weeks ago to last week. Analysts were expecting to see a slight decline in new claims, so we could technically consider this data a bit favorable for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates. But, the truth is that it doesn’t carry enough significance to influence trading or rates with such a minor variance. Therefore, we are considering the data to be neutral and a non-factor in today’s pricing.

The second of the morning and the final report of the week was April’s Leading Economic Indicators (LEI). The Conference Board said late this morning that the LEI fell 0.1% last month when it was expected to rise 0.2%. This means the index is predicting flat economic growth over the next several months. That makes the results good news for Massachusetts mortgage rates, but unfortunately this data is also considered moderately important so its impact on today’s bond trading and Massachusetts mortgage pricing has been minimal.

There is nothing of relevance scheduled for release tomorrow, so look for the stock markets and news from Greece to be the biggest factors in changes to Massachusetts mortgage pricing tomorrow. Stock gains will likely translate into bond weakness and highermortgage rates, while stock losses should lead to an improvement to rates. Any progress in the Greece political stalemate will also influence the markets, particularly if something gives that indicates the current bailout agreement in place will be honored. That would probably fuel a stock rally and bond selling, meaning Massachusetts mortgage rates could move higher.

Lock or Float Advice for Current Massachusetts Mortgage Rates

If I were considering purchasing or refinancing a home and predicting likely Massachusetts mortgage rates, 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 a general opinion of what I would do if I were considering whether to lock or float based on Massachusetts mortgage rate trends. Your individual situation may be different.

Copyright : Mortgage Commentary

Mortgage Commentary for Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Trends

Subscribe here to have Massachusetts mortgage rates updates delivered to your inbox automatically.

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory following the release of stronger than expected economic data and more stock gains. The stock markets are showing another round of moderate gains with the Dow up 47 points and the Nasdaq up 12 points. The bond market is currently down 8/32, which will likely push current Massachusetts mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.

The Commerce Department kicked off today’s economic events with the release of April’s Housing Starts early this morning. They announced a surprising jump of 2.6% in new housing construction starts that exceeded forecasts. The report also showed a sizable upward revision to March’s figures, creating a 9.6% increase between February and April. That is a decent sized increase, indicating housing sector strength, making the data negative for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates.

Posted mid-morning was April’s Industrial Production that also exceeded forecasts with a 1.1% increase in output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities. Since analysts were expecting to see an increase of only 0.5%, this data is also bad news for the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage pricing. Fortunately though, neither of these reports is considered to be highly important to the markets.

We will also get the minutes of the last FOMC meeting at 2:00 PM ET today. Market participants will be looking for how Fed members voted during the last meeting and any comments about inflation concerns in the economy and economic growth. The goal is to form opinions about whether the Fed will be able to wait until late 2014 to make a move to either boost economic activity or slow growth to ease inflation concerns. Look for these minutes to influence the markets during late afternoon hours.

The week’s last economic news will be posted tomorrow morning. The Labor Department will give us last week’s unemployment figures early tomorrow morning. They are expected to announce that 365,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week, down slightly from the previous week’s 367,000. The lower the number of new claims filed, the better the news for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates. However, since this data tracks only a single week’s worth of new filings, it usually takes a large variance from forecasts for it to cause a noticeable movement in Massachusetts mortgage pricing.

April’s Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) will be released by the Conference Board late tomorrow morning. This report attempts to measure economic activity over the next three to six months. It is expected to show a 0.2% increase from March’s reading, meaning that economic activity is likely to strengthen slightly over the next few months. A decline would be good news for the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage pricing, while an increase could cause Massachusetts mortgage rates to inch higher tomorrow.

Lock or Float Advice for Current Massachusetts Mortgage Rates

If I were considering purchasing or refinancing a home and predicting likely Massachusetts mortgage rates, 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 a general opinion of what I would do if I were considering whether to lock or float based on Massachusetts mortgage rate trends. Your individual situation may be different.

Copyright : Mortgage Commentary

Mortgage Commentary for Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Trends

Subscribe here to have Massachusetts mortgage rates updates delivered to your inbox automatically.

Tuesday’s bond market has opened down slightly following a positive opening in stocks and no significant surprises in this morning’s major economic data. The stock markets are showing moderate gains with the Dow up 36 points and the Nasdaq up 17 points. The bond market is currently down 4/32, but I don’t believe we will see much of a change current Massachusetts mortgage rates.

The Commerce Department reported early this morning that April’s Retail Sales rose 0.1% when analysts were expecting a 0.2% increase. The reading that excludes more volatile auto sales also rose 0.1% compared to forecasts of 0.2%. Technically, the data is slightly favorable for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates because it consumers spent less than expected last month. However, the variance wasn’t enough to raise much concern in the stock markets or optimism in the bond market.

April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) was posted early this morning also, but by the Labor Department. They announced that the overall reading did not change from March’s level and that the core reading rose 0.2%. Both readings pegged forecasts, indicating that inflationary pressures remained near expectations last month. That makes the data neutral for bond trading and Massachusetts mortgage pricing.

Tomorrow has three of this week’s reports scheduled, starting with April’s Housing Starts at 8:30 AM ET. This data measures housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand by tracking newly issued permits and actual starts of new home construction. It is expected to show an increase in new starts from March’s readings. Since this report is not considered to be of high importance to the bond market, it likely will have little impact on Massachusetts mortgage rates unless it varies greatly from forecasts.

The second report of the day is April’s Industrial Production at 9:15 AM ET. It measures manufacturing sector strength by tracking output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities. It is expected to show a 0.5% increase in production, indicating that manufacturing activity is growing. A smaller than expected increase in output would be good news for the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage rates because it would indicate that the manufacturing sector is not as strong as thought. This report is just a bit more important to the markets as the earlier housing report, so they both will likely need to show unexpected strength or weakness for them to cause movement in Massachusetts mortgage rates.

Tomorrow’s third release is the minutes of the last FOMC meeting. Market participants will be looking for how Fed members voted during the last meeting and any comments about inflation concerns in the economy and economic growth. The goal is to form opinions about the Fed being able to wait until late 2014 to make a move to either boost economic activity or slow growth to ease inflation concerns. Since the minutes will be released at 2:00 PM ET, if there is a market reaction to them it will be evident during afternoon trading tomorrow.

Lock or Float Advice for Current Massachusetts Mortgage Rates

If I were considering purchasing or refinancing a home and predicting likely Massachusetts mortgage rates, 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 a general opinion of what I would do if I were considering whether to lock or float based on Massachusetts mortgage rate trends. Your individual situation may be different.

Copyright : Mortgage Commentary

Mortgage Commentary for Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Trends

Subscribe here to have Massachusetts mortgage rates updates delivered to your inbox automatically.

Monday’s bond market has opened in positive territory following early stock weakness. The Dow is currently down 92 points while the Nasdaq has lost 16 points. The bond market is currently up 17/32, which should improve current Massachusetts mortgage rates by approximately .125 – .250 of a discount point over Friday’s morning pricing.

There is nothing of relevance scheduled for release today, leaving bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates to be influenced by stock trading. The rest of the week brings us the release of four pieces of relevant economic news in addition to the minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting.

The first important piece of data this week is April’s Retail Sales, which will be released at 8:30 AM ET tomorrow. It is an extremely important report for the financial markets since it measures consumer spending. Consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, so this data can have a pretty significant impact on the markets. Current forecasts are calling for a 0.6% increase in sales from March to April. A weaker than expected level of sales should push bond prices higher and Massachusetts mortgage rates lower Thursday morning as it would signal that economic activity may not be as strong as thought. However, a larger increase could fuel fears of economic growth that would lead to bond selling and higher Massachusetts mortgage pricing.

April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) will also be posted at 8:30 AM ET romorrow. It is similar to last week’s PPI report, but measures inflationary pressures at the more important consumer level of the economy. These results will be watched closely and could lead to significant volatility in the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage pricing if they show any surprises. Current forecasts are calling for no change in the overall index and a 0.2% rise in the core data reading. The core data is the more important of the two readings because it excludes more volatile food and energy prices, giving analysts a more stable and reliable measurement of inflation.

Overall, it looks like we may see the most activity tomorrow with the two most important reports of the week scheduled. Wednesday could also be active while Friday is the best candidate for calmest day unless something unexpected happens. However, sizable gains or losses in the major stock indexes could influence bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates more than a good part of this week’s economic data can. Therefore, please maintain contact with your mortgage professional if still floating an interest rate.

Lock or Float Advice for Current Massachusetts Mortgage Rates

If I were considering purchasing or refinancing a home and predicting likely Massachusetts mortgage rates, 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 a general opinion of what I would do if I were considering whether to lock or float based on Massachusetts mortgage rate trends. Your individual situation may be different.

Copyright : Mortgage Commentary

Mortgage Commentary for Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Trends

Subscribe here to have Massachusetts mortgage rates updates delivered to your inbox automatically.

This week brings us the release of five pieces of relevant economic news in addition to the minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting. Two of the economic reports are considered to be highly important to the markets and mortgage rates, while the others carry enough significance to influence Massachusetts mortgage rates if they show a wide variance from forecasts.

Nothing of importance is scheduled for tomorrow, so look for the stock markets to be a major influence on bond trading and Massachusetts mortgage pricing. If the stock markets open the week with sizable gains, bonds will likely suffer and Massachusetts mortgage rates will probably move higher tomorrow. However, noticeable stock weakness could translate into slightly lower rates tomorrow.

The first important piece of data this week is April’s Retail Sales, which will be released at 8:30 AM ET Tuesday. It is an extremely important report for the financial markets since it measures consumer spending. Consumer spending makes up over two-thirds of the U.S. economy, so this data can have a pretty significant impact on the markets. Current forecasts are calling for a 0.2% increase in sales from March to April. A weaker than expected level of sales should push bond prices higher and mortgage rates lower Tuesday morning as it would signal that economic activity may not be as strong as thought. However, a larger increase could fuel fears of economic growth that would lead to stock buying and bond selling that would push Massachusetts mortgage rates higher.

April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) will also be posted at 8:30 AM ET Tuesday. It is similar to last week’s PPI report, but measures inflationary pressures at the more important consumer level of the economy. These results will be watched closely and could lead to significant volatility in the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage pricing if they show any surprises. Current forecasts are calling for no change in the overall index and a 0.2% rise in the core data reading. The core data is the more important of the two readings because it excludes more volatile food and energy prices, giving analysts a more stable and reliable measurement of inflation.

Wednesday has three reports scheduled, starting with April’s Housing Starts at 8:30 AM ET. This data measures housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand by tracking newly issued permits and actual starts of new home construction. It is expected to show an increase in new starts from March’s readings. Since this report is not considered to be of high importance to the bond market, it likely will have little impact on Massachusetts mortgage rates unless it varies greatly from forecasts.

The second report of the day is April’s Industrial Production at 9:15 AM ET. It measures manufacturing sector strength by tracking output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities. It is expected to show a 0.5% increase in production, indicating that manufacturing activity is growing. A smaller than expected increase in output would be good news for the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage rates because it would indicate that the manufacturing sector is not as strong as thought. This report is just a bit more important to the markets as the earlier housing report, so they both will likely need to show unexpected strength or weakness for them to cause movement in Massachusetts mortgage rates.

Wednesday’s third release is the minutes of the last FOMC meeting. Market participants will be looking for how Fed members voted during the last meeting and any comments about inflation concerns in the economy and economic growth. The goal is to form opinions about the Fed being able to wait until late 2014 to make a move to either boost economic activity or slow growth to ease inflation concerns. Since the minutes will be released at 2:00 PM ET, if there is a market reaction to them it will be evident during afternoon trading Wednesday.

The last data of the week comes late Thursday morning with the release of April’s Leading Economic Indicators (LEI). This Conference Board report attempts to measure economic activity over the next three to six months. It is expected to show a 0.2% increase from March’s reading, meaning that economic activity is likely to strengthen slightly over the next few months. A decline would be good news for the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage rates, while an increase could cause mortgage rates to inch higher Thursday.

Overall, it looks like we may see the most activity Tuesday with the two most important reports of the week scheduled. Wednesday could also be active while Friday is the best candidate for calmest day unless something unexpected happens. However, sizable gains or losses in the major stock indexes could influence bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates more than a good part of this week’s economic data can. Therefore, please maintain contact with your mortgage professional if still floating an interest rate.

Lock or Float Advice for Current Massachusetts Mortgage Rates

If I were considering purchasing or refinancing a home and predicting likely Massachusetts mortgage rates, 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 a general opinion of what I would do if I were considering whether to lock or float based on Massachusetts mortgage rate trends. Your individual situation may be different.

Copyright : Mortgage Commentary

Mortgage Commentary for Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Trends

Subscribe here to have Massachusetts mortgage rates updates delivered to your inbox automatically.

Friday’s bond market has opened up slightly despite some basically unfavorable economic data and early stock gains. The Dow is currently up 36 points while the Nasdaq has gained 16 points. The bond market is currently up 4/32, but we will still likely see a slight increase in current Massachusetts mortgage rates of approximately .125 of a discount point.

There were two economic reports posted this morning. The first was April’s Producer Price Index (PPI) early this morning from the Labor Department. They announced a decline in the overall reading of 0.2% when it was expected to remain unchanged. That is generally good news for the bond market, but the more important core data reading matched forecasts, minimizing the impact on this morning’s Massachusetts mortgage rates.

Late this morning, the University of Michigan released their Index of Consumer Sentiment, announcing a reading of 77.8, exceeding forecasts of 76.0. This means surveyed consumers were more optimistic about their own financial situations than many had expected. That makes the data negative for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates because higher levels of consumer sentiment means they are more apt to make a large purchase in the near future, fueling economic growth.

Next week has several important economic reports scheduled, including today’s sister inflation report- the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and a key measurement of consumer spending, along with others. Everything is due the middle part of the week, with nothing on the agenda for Monday. This means we can expect weekend news and stock trading to be the biggest influences on Monday’s Massachusetts mortgage pricing. Look for details on next week’s event in Sunday’s weekly preview.

Lock or Float Advice for Current Massachusetts Mortgage Rates

If I were considering purchasing or refinancing a home and predicting likely Massachusetts mortgage rates, 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 a general opinion of what I would do if I were considering whether to lock or float based on Massachusetts mortgage rate trends. Your individual situation may be different.

Copyright : Mortgage Commentary