Your Daily Mortgage Commentary & Rate Lock Advice for Massachusetts Mortgage Rates
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Mortgage Broker
Wednesday’s bond market has opened relatively flat as investors prepare for today’s important 10-year Note auction. The stock markets are showing losses with the Dow down 72 points and the Nasdaq down 15 points. The bond market is currently up 2/32, but we will likely still see this morning’s Massachusetts mortgage rates move higher by approximately .125 – .250 of a discount point due to weakness late yesterday.
Today’s only semi-relevant economic data was December’s Goods and Services Trade Balance. It revealed a $40.2 billion trade deficit that was much larger than expected. This data does not usually heavily influence Massachusetts mortgage rates, but can hurt or boost the U.S. dollar against other currencies that can make our securities more or less attractive to international investors. But today’s data has not affected this morning’s mortgage rates.
I suspect that today’s 10-year Treasury Note auction will cause some afternoon revisions to mortgage rates today. I would be surprised if there was an overwhelmingly strong demand for the Notes, and as a result we could see afternoon weakness in bonds. This morning’s flat open is not much concern as it is normal to see weakness ahead of the sales as participants prepare for them. But that any losses are usually recovered after if the sale goes well. Results will be posted at 1:00 PM ET, so any reaction would be during afternoon hours.
There is no important economic data scheduled for release tomorrow. We do get weekly unemployment figures from the Labor Department and there is a 30-year Bond auction for the market to digest. The Labor Department will post last week’s unemployment number early tomorrow morning. They are expected to show that 465,000 new claims for benefits were filed last week, down from 480,000 the previous week. Because this tracks only a single week’s worth of claims, it usually does not cause much movement in Massachusetts mortgage rates unless it varies greatly from forecasts.
The 30-year Bond auction is fairly relevant to the mortgage market, but today’s 10-year Note sale will likely have a more direct impact on mortgage rates. Depending on today’s sale goes, tomorrow’s results could be a non-factor in the mortgage market. As with today’s sale, results will be posted at 1:00 PM ET, so any reaction will be during afternoon trading.
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 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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