Your Daily Mortgage Commentary & Rate Lock Advice for Massachusetts Mortgage Rates
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Mortgage Broker
Wednesday’s bond market has opened slightly in positive territory after this morning’s economic data gave us some relatively favorable results. The stock markets are showing gains with the Dow up 50 points and the Nasdaq up 13 points. The bond market is currently up 2/32, but we should still see an improvement in this morning’s Massachusetts mortgage rates of approximately .125 of a discount point.
The Labor Department gave us this morning’s data, showing a 0.6% decline in February’s Producer Price Index (PPI). This was much weaker than expected, but the core data reading rose 0.1%, matching forecasts. This means that prices at the producer level of the economy fell more than thought, but if food and energy prices are excluded there was no surprise. That can be considered neutral to good news for bonds and Massachusetts mortgage rates because it indicates inflation did not rise more than predicted last month—at least not at the producer level of the economy.
The more important Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be released early tomorrow morning. It measures inflationary pressures at the very important consumer level of the economy. Its results can definitely have a huge impact on the financial markets, especially long-term securities such as mortgage-related bonds. It is expected to show a 0.1% increase in the overall index and a 0.1% rise in the more important core data. If we see weaker than expected readings tomorrow, bond prices should rise and Massachusetts mortgage rates will likely fall.
The Conference Board will post its Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) for February late tomorrow morning. This index attempts to measure economic activity over the next three to six months. Current forecasts are calling for a 0.1% increase, indicating that economic activity will likely expand slightly in the coming weeks. A decline would be considered good news for the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage rates.
Tomorrow also brings us the release of last week’s unemployment figures, but unless we see a large difference between the 450,000 new claims that are expected and the actual total that is announced, this data will likely have little influence on the bond market and Massachusetts mortgage rates. The CPI reading is much more important to the markets than a single week’s worth of unemployment figures.
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…
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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