Your Daily Mortgage Commentary & Rate Lock Advice for Massachusetts Mortgage Rates
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Mortgage Broker
Tuesday’s bond market has opened in positive territory after this morning’s only economic data showed weaker than expected results. The stock markets are helping boost bond prices with the Dow down 76 points and the Nasdaq down 15 points. The bond market is currently up 7/32, which should improve this morning’s Massachusetts mortgage rates by approximately .125 of a discount point.
June’s Housing Starts was today’s only relevant data and it does not carry much significance in the markets. It revealed that starts of new housing fell 5% last month to its lowest level since last October. This further supports the theory that the housing market is not stable yet, which can be considered good news for the mortgage market and Massachusetts mortgage rates because a weak housing sector makes a broader economic recovery less likely.
There is no relevant economic data to be posted tomorrow, but it is the first of two days of congressional testimony on the status of the economy and monetary policy by Fed Chairman Bernanke. He will appear at 10:00 AM ET and usually starts with a prepared statement before answer questions directly from the committee members. He will testify before the Senate Banking Committee tomorrow and the House Financial Services Committee Thursday morning.
This event will be televised and watched very closely by market participants and analysts. We usually see the most movement in Massachusetts mortgage rates during the first day of this semi-annual testimony since his prepared words for both appearances are usually quite similar to each other, meaning that the second day of testimony rarely gives us anything we did not hear during the first day.
Thursday brings us a couple of economic reports, but none of them are considered to be highly important to the markets. The data itself could lead to minor changes in Massachusetts mortgage rates, but if Wednesday’s events lead to a sizable rally or sell-off in the bond market, that activity may carry into Thursday’s trading also. In other words, we may have a fairly quiet day or possibly a very active day Thursday, depending on how tomorrow goes.
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…
Float 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 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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