The Massachusetts Mortgage Broker

Your Daily Mortgage Commentary & Rate Lock Advice for Massachusetts Mortgage Rates
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Mortgage Broker

Friday’s bond market has opened up slightly despite an upward revision to the 4th Quarter GDP reading. The stock markets are in negative ground with the Dow down 26 points and the Nasdaq down 3 points. The bond market is currently up 3/32, but I don’t think we will see much of a change in this morning’s Massachusetts mortgage rates, possibly a slight improvement.

This morning’s GDP revision for the 4th quarter came in a little higher or stronger than last month’s previous estimate of 5.7%. Today’s release showed a 5.9% rate of growth, meaning economic activity was stronger than many had thought. This headline number is bad news for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates because a strengthening economy raises inflation concerns and make bonds less appealing to investors. However, a relatively important inflation reading within the data was revised lower than previously thought. That has helped to keep bonds in positive ground during early trading.

The second report of the morning came from the University of Michigan who updated their Index of Consumer Sentiment for February. They announced a reading of 73.6 that was close to forecasts. It is a slight decline from the previous estimate but I don’t believe this small change will affect mortgage pricing today.

Also posted this morning was January’s Existing Home Sales data from the National Association of Realtors. They reported a 7.2% decline in home resales last month when a small increase was expected. This dropped sales to their lowest level since last summer, indicating that the housing sector still has some hurdles to tackle. This can be considered favorable news for bonds, but the data usually does not heavily influence trading or Massachusetts mortgage rates.

Next week is looking to be pretty active with several important economic reports scheduled for release. There is relevant data being posted four out of the five days, with a couple of them having multiple releases scheduled. Monday does bring us the release of some important data with January’s Personal Income and Outlays report and February’s ISM manufacturing index both scheduled. Income and spending are bother expected to rise, but the ISM index is likely to show that manufacturer sentiment slipped this month. Look for more details on next week’s events in Sunday’s weekly preview.

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…
Lock 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 a Massachusetts mortgage based on the current mortgage market. Your individual situation may be different. Contact me if you would like advice for your particular circumstances.

For detailed information on Massachusetts mortgage rates, check out my article, “Massachusetts Mortgage Rates Revealed – How Lenders Determine Mortgage Rates Every Day“.

Copyright : Mortgage Commentary

Geof McLaughlin, better known as The Massachusetts Mortgage Broker, is a nationally acclaimed mortgage professional committed to educating and empowering consumers about all things mortgage through his popular Massachusetts Mortgage Broker blog.

Geof is a top loan originator for one of the country’s leading mortgage companies, Mortgage Master Inc, with a proven reputation of offering its clients the best Massachusetts mortgage rates and lowest closing costs. He can be reached directly at 508.656.0055 or at geof@MAMortgageBroker.com.

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