Rate Lock Advisory

Tuesday, May 21th

Tuesday’s bond market has opened fairly flat despite weaker than expected housing news. Stocks are not helping with the Dow up 126 points and the Nasdaq up 63 points. The bond market is currently down 1/32 (2.42%), which with weakness late yesterday should push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.

1/32

Bonds

30 yr - 2.42%

126

Dow

25,806

NASDAQ

7,766

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

30 Year Fixed
15 Year Fixed
5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Medium

Positive

Existing Home Sales from National Assoc of Realtors

The National Association of Realtors announced late this morning that home resales slipped 0.4% last month. This was weaker than the small increase that was expected, indicating the housing sector remains softer than analysts thought. That makes the data good news for bonds and mortgage rates. Unfortunately, this is considered to be only a moderately important report, preventing a more noticeable reaction to the results.

Medium

Unknown

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Minutes

Tomorrow’s only relevant event is the afternoon release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting. Market participants will be looking for how Fed members voted during the last meeting and any comments about inflation concerns or economic growth. The goal is to form opinions about the Fed's next move regarding interest rates. There is much debate in the markets whether or not the Fed will adjust key short-term rates. Since the minutes will be released at 2:00 PM ET, if there is a market reaction to them it will be evident during mid-afternoon trading tomorrow.

Float / Lock Recommendation

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, 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 my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.