Your Daily Mortgage Commentary & Rate Lock Advice for Massachusetts Mortgage Rates
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Mortgage Broker
Monday’s bond market has opened in positive territory after concerns about the economy and this week’s have led to a negative open in stocks. The Dow is currently down 49 points while the Nasdaq has lost 11 points. The bond market is currently up 14/32, but we will likely see little change in this morning’s Massachusetts mortgage rates do to weakness late Friday.
Today’s only relevant economic data was July’s Personal Income and Outlays. It showed that personal income rose 0.2% while spending rose 0.4% last month. The income reading matched forecasts, but the increase in spending was a little higher than what analysts were expecting. Therefore, this data can be considered neutral to slightly negative for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates.
Tomorrow has two releases scheduled that may affect Massachusetts mortgage rates. The first is August’s Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board. This index measures consumer sentiment about their personal financial situations, giving us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. That is important because consumer spending makes up two thirds of the U.S. economy. A decline in confidence would indicate that surveyed consumers probably will not make a large purchase in the immediate future. That sign of economic weakness should drive bond prices higher, leading to lower mortgage rates tomorrow morning. The 10:00 AM ET release is expected to show a reading of 50.0, which would be a small decline from July’s 50.4. The lower the reading, the better the news for bonds and mortgage pricing.
Also tomorrow is the release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting. There is a pretty good possibility of the markets reacting to them following their 2:00 PM ET release, especially if they show some divisiveness by its members. It will be interesting to see some of the Fed member’s views on the economy and inflation and if they will hint what the Fed’s next move may be. But this is one of those events that can cause significant movement in Massachusetts mortgage rates after its release or be a non-factor. I suspect that this particular release will cause a little movement in bond prices, but not enough to significantly affect mortgage pricing.
Overall, I expect to see the most movement in Massachusetts mortgage rates Friday, but tomorrow and Wednesday should also be fairly active. Also worth mentioning though is the fact that next Monday is Labor Day so all markets will be closed. The bond market will not close early this Friday, but many traders may head home for the long weekend after Friday’s data is posted. This means that trading will likely be thin Friday afternoon even though the markets will still be open. This could lead to additional volatility in rates as traders prepare for the long weekend, so please be careful this week if still floating an interest rate.
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.
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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