Your Daily Mortgage Commentary & Rate Lock Advice for Massachusetts Mortgage Rates
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Mortgage Broker
Thursday’s bond market has opened in negative territory following early gains in stocks. The Dow is currently up 32 points while the Nasdaq has gained 7 points. The bond market is currently down 7/32, which should push this morning’s Massachusetts mortgage rates higher by approximately .250 – .375 of a discount point.
The first piece of data posted this morning was the revised 1st Quarter Productivity and Costs report that showed worker productivity rose at an annual pace of 2.8% last quarter. This was lower than the previous estimate of 3.6% and forecasts of 3.3%, meaning workers were not as productive during the first three months of the year as many had thought. Also worth noting was a smaller than expected decline in the labor costs index. Both of these readings can be considered negative news for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates.
The Commerce Department said that new orders at U.S. factories rose only 1.2% in April. This was a smaller than expected increase, indicating manufacturing activity was not as strong as many had thought. That is good news for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates, but unfortunately this data does not carry the influence to heavily move rates.
The third report came from the Institute for Supply Management, who announced a 55.4 reading in their service index. This nearly matched forecasts and has not affected this morning’s bond trading or Massachusetts mortgage rates.
Also posted this morning were weekly unemployment numbers from the Labor Department. They announced that 453,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week. This was close to analysts’ expectations of 455,000, so it had no impact on today’s Massachusetts mortgage rates. Besides, market participants would be much more interested in tomorrow’s monthly figures than just a single week’s worth of data.
Tomorrow’s sole report is arguably the single most important report that we see each month. The Labor Department will post May’s Employment data early tomorrow morning. This report gives us key employment readings such as the U.S. unemployment rate and the number of jobs added or lost during the month. Analysts are expecting to see the unemployment rate slip from 9.9% in April to 9.8% this month with approximately 500,000 jobs added to the economy during the month. A higher than expected unemployment rate and fewer than 500,000 new payrolls would be great news for the bond market. It would probably create a sizable rally in bonds, leading to lower Massachusetts mortgage rates. However, stronger than expected numbers may lead to a spike in mortgage rates tomorrow morning.
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.
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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