Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: September 19, 2011

With the fall season making it’s presence known, seeking green sprouts in the economy and the real estate industry is becoming more difficult. This week has plenty of opportunities to showcase a new glimmer of hope with several key economic reports and the FOMC Meeting on Wednesday.

Although home loan rates did increase last week, this week could be a market mover as all eyes will be on the FOMC Announcement and exactly how Bernanke will implement a potential new initiative to stimulate the economy. Based on the failure of Quantitative Easing and Quantitative Easing 2 to stimulate the economy there is a lack of overall confidence on what can really be done by the FED.

Homeowners and home buyers will want to pay close attention to both the August Housing Starts and Single Family Permits released on Tuesday, as well as the August Existing Homes Sales on Wednesday and the FHFA Home Prices on Thursday.

Although much attention will be given to domestic news this week, we must remember to listen to the financial negotiations between the European Union and the International Monetary Fund on the economic viability of Greece.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: September 19, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: September 12, 2011

No matter what you were doing yesterday, there is no doubt that the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 was a part of the conversation. Every newspaper, news coverage, tv station and sporting events paid tribute to the many heros and lives lost.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum | World Trade Center Memorial is officially open to the public as of today. Let this Memorial forever remind us of the greatness that binds this country and our people.

With that being said, the debt crisis in Europe continues to impact US markets as Greece looks for a second infusion of cash to avoid default. Just like individual borrowers, the country of Greece has to decide if it can meet it’s new financial obligations or if it would be better to default and start over.

Just the rumblings of Greece defaulting is already weighing negatively on European banks. Ultimately, this will affect the US markets. Expect continued volalitility this week as investors seek a safe place to park their money while trying to figure out what will come of the continued sovereign debt issues in Europe. 

In domestic news, both the 10 year note and mortgage bonds will start the week at 60 year historic lows. All eyes are waiting to see when and how investors will embrace Obama’s new job plan. If the stock market reaction since his speech is any indication…investors do not like it.

Much of the key economic reports will be toward the end of the week. In the meantime, US Treasury will auction off another $66 billion of notes and bonds Monday through Wednesday. If you are looking to close your purchase home loan this week, you would be best advised to keep your mortgage professional on speed dial this week.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: September 12, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: September 6, 2011

There is no other tradition that signifies Labor Day weekend than the MDA Labor Day Telethon. For the first time since it’s inception in 1966, Jerry Lewis was not apart of the telethon and the show was trimmed from it’s standard 21-1/2 hours down to 6 hours.

Some would argue that the MDA Labor Day Telethon wouldn’t be the same without the long time tv personality and more importantly wouldn’t have enough air time to raise money. Even without Jerry Lewis and the extended hours, the Muscular Dystrophy Association raised $61.5 million over the weekend.

What does the telethon have to do with mortgage rates you ask?

The outcome of the telethon is a great example of how the underlying fundamentals of good will and a great cause always prevail even under the duress of the financial woes of today’s economy. Likewise, mortgage rates are still at historic lows and the affordability of homeownership makes more sense now even in a down economy.

With a shortened week on Wall Street due to Labor Day, much of the attention will be given to foreign equity markets and the forthcoming speech by President Obama to a joint session of Congress about jobs. All ears domestically and internationally will be listening to hear what the big plan is to create jobs right now. Just as with the telethon this past weekend, keep your fingers crossed and HOPE the outcome exceeds everyones expectations.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: September 6, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 29, 2011

Hurricane Irene was definitley high on the list of weekend conversation. Not just the anticipation of which East Coast areas that it would consume, but also how much devastation it would leave in its path.

Although the aftermath of Hurricane Irene has been the headline nationally, the weather for Northwest Indiana and the greater Chicagoland area was fantastic this past weekend.

Just like the buzz about Hurricane Irene, both mortgage bonds and the financial markets have been on heightened alert as of recent.

This week should be no different as the calm before the storm will lead up to Friday’s August Employment Report. This does not mean that there are no key economic reports for the remainder of the week; however, all the other reports will just keep everyone in suspense until Friday.

Global stock markets have seen improvement today on the heels of Ben Bernanke’s view of the US recovery. If the economic reports support Bernanke’s stance on the world’s largest economy improving then expect mortgage rates to increase. Just remember the Quick Rule of Thumb listed below.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 29, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 22, 2011

If you love tennis, you undoubtedly have heard about the weekend withdrawal of Novak Djokovic who was on a torrid winning streak unheralded since John McEnroe in 1984. What is remarkable about Djokovic’s winning streak is the caliber of elite players  he beat and the tournaments won.

Just like Djokovic’s historic winning streak, mortgage rates have also been on their own historic run. Although many of the tennis experts expected Djokovic to surpass John McEnroe’s historic 1984 win-loss performance it all came to a crashing end.

Will mortgage rates have the same quick demise? Some would say yes based on the history of mortgage rate corrections.

When talking about mortgage rates and what else could impact them this week its still all about what is occurring in Europe with the bank and sovereign debt problems. There will also be another round of Treasury auctions that will start Tuesday with $35 Billion of 2 year notes, Wednesday with $35 Billion of 5 year notes and Thursday with $29 Billion of 7 year notes.

There are only a couple of high impact economic releases to consider this week with July New Home Sales and the second look at the 2nd Quarter GDP. On Friday the opening of the annual Jackson Hole conference where markets are expecting something from Ben Bernanke on what, if anything the Fed can do to rev up the economy. Look for continued volatility in stocks and bonds this week.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 22, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 15, 2011

As a life-long Chicago Cubs fan, the ongoing saga referred to as Carlos Zambrano has come to a boiling point that just seems out of this world. Zambrano who once was anointed the franchise ace pitcher with a $91.5 million contract has recently become so unpredictable and volatile.

Similar to Carlos Zambrano, the US mortgage bond market has become unpredictably volatile in the past several weeks.

This week should continue to see a high degree of volatility as global investors attempt to decipher the ever changing economic outlook not only in the US but also around the world.

Even though last week did not have any high impacting economic reports, the high volatility drove many investors to park their money into the US bond market as a safe haven. Consequently, the mortgage bond market is technically in an overbought position and that could add even more volatility to mortgage rates this week. Mortgage rates may not hit the lows of early last week; however, they should remain relatively low.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 15, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 8, 2011

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the American Eagle roller coaster, Six Flags Great America will operate half of the historic wooden roller coaster backwards starting today thru September 17th. Speaking of roller coaster rides, the same could be said of the stock markets, Fannie Mae mortgage bonds, European Union and US credit ratings.

Just when everyone was enjoying the roller coaster ride of positive and better than expected employment numbers on Friday, Standard & Poor’s released an unprecedented decision to downgrade the US Government’s credit rating from AAA to AA+.

International stock markets have been negatively impacted throughout the weekend and needless to say the US stock market is set to open substantially lower this morning.

It will be interesting to see how well received the $72 billion of US Treasury notes and bonds that are to be auctioned off Tuesday through Thursday on the heels of the S&P credit downgrade. Furthermore, will the Federal Reserve address these recent turn of events during their FOMC meeting on Tuesday.

In overseas development, the financial and bond market will be keeping close observation on the progress of the European Central Bank’s plan to buy sovereign bonds from the troubled countries in the EU.

Buckle up and hold on for dear life as this roller coaster ride is set to get a whole lot scarier.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 8, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 1, 2011

Leave it to top lawmakers on Capitol Hill to wait for the final countdown to come together on an agreement so as to prevent a catastrophic US debt default. If you missed President Obama’s news breaking speech last night, it sounds like music to the ears of Social Security and government payment recipients.

What is not clear yet is will the debt deal actually be acceptable to all parties in the House and the Senate. Even with the passage of the debt deal, it still appears that there will be a downgrade of the US credit rating on a global level.

Once the debt deal is passed there will be ongoing debate about it’s implementation and intended effectiveness. It was also clear last night that President Obama would like to get the debt ceiling negotiations behind us so that we can collectively focus on the growth of the ailing US economy.

The biggest and all important report to judge the economy will be released on Friday. Based on the low expectations of economists of only 75,000 new jobs there will be a tremendous amount of scrutiny of the unemployment rate.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: August 1, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

Weekly Economic Releases

The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: July 25, 2011

Just when everyone thought the NFL lockout was over when the team owners signed the dotted line late last week, the players hesitated to agree to the terms and requested more time to review the details of the new collective bargaining agreement.

The NFL lockout is very reminiscent of the debt ceiling talks on Capitol Hill as Democrats and Republicans are firm on their party positions. Politicians have not yet come up with a plan that will allow the Treasury to avoid default on August 2nd.

Best case scenario is that both the NFL and politicians come to an agreement this week. Even though no one believes the US will default, it’s the details of what Congress legislates in regards to the debt ceiling on whether or not the rating agencies will lower the US bond rating from AAA to AA2.

The on-going troubles in Europe with potential defaults on debt in Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland will also impact the desirability of US bonds on a global level regardless of the adjustment to US bond ratings.

While the general public has become frustrated and tired of the negotiation process, it’s just another day in the real estate industry for those who actively negotiate purchase agreements. It is all too common for real estate agreements to fall apart over the details and some real estate deals have taken just as long as the NFL lockout and the politcal process to come to an amiable agreement.

The US Treasury will be borrowing another $99 billion with auctions of 2 yr notes on Tuesday, 5 yr notes on Wednesday and 7 yr notes on Thursday. This will definitely add more fuel to the fire on the debt ceiling debate.

The economic calendar this week has the following key economic and financial reports:

This is The Week Ahead for Mortgage Rates: July 25, 2011.

Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.

Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen

Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, the combination of low home loan rates and affordable home prices make this an ideal time to buy a home. Want to know if you can afford a new home? Call or text me at 512-522-7284 to discuss your personal situation and your home loan options!

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