Rate Lock Advisory

Wednesday, December 2nd

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory despite favorable economic news. Stocks are also showing losses after setting records yesterday, pushing the Dow lower by 74 points and the Nasdaq down 79 points. The bond market is currently down 8/32 (0.95%), which should cause this morning’s mortgage rates to be approximately .125 of a discount point higher than Tuesday’s early pricing.

8/32

Bonds

30 yr - 0.95%

74

Dow

29,749

79

NASDAQ

12,276

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

  • 30 Year Fixed
  • 15 Year Fixed
  • 5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Low

Unknown

Fed Talk

Fed Chairman Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin are speaking to Congress again today, this time before the House Financial Services Committee. Yesterday’s testimony didn’t reveal any big surprises but did show how much of a difference there is between the Treasury and the Fed’s opinions on the economy. The Fed is obviously much more cautious and concerned about the economic recovery than the Treasury Department. That may affect what could happen in terms of another stimulus program for consumers and/or businesses before the administration takes office on January 20th. Since today’s prepared statements should match yesterday’s, we likely will not see the markets or mortgage rates react to today’s appearance.

High

Positive

ADP Employment

November's ADP Employment report was posted at 8:15 AM ET this morning, revealing 307,000 new private-sector jobs were added to the economy last month. This was well below expectations of 400,000 new jobs and a decline from October’s revised 404,000. The softer number is a sign that the employment sector didn’t make as much progress in recovering last month as many had thought. This is another sign of a slowing rebound in the labor market, making the news favorable for bonds and mortgage rates. However, this news should be taken lightly because this report isn’t considered to be a good indicator of how well the sector is doing on a broader level. We will get that information in Friday’s governmental Employment report.

Medium

Unknown

Fed Beige Book

We have an afternoon release to watch today when the Fed posts their Beige Book at 2:00 PM ET. This report is named simply after the color of its cover and details economic conditions throughout the U.S. by Fed region through business contacts. Since the Fed uses this info during their FOMC meetings, its results can have a fairly big impact on the financial markets and mortgage rates if it reveals any surprises. Of particular interest is information regarding inflation, unemployment or future hiring. If there is a reaction to the report, it will come during mid-afternoon trading.

High

Unknown

Weekly Unemployment Claims (every Thursday)

Tomorrow’s only relevant economic data will be last week’s unemployment figures at 8:30 AM ET. They are expected to show that 777,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week, nearly unchanged from the previous week’s number of filings. Rising claims is a sign of employment sector weakness, meaning the higher the number tomorrow morning, the better the news it for mortgage rates.

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... 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 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.