The week following the FOMC rate decision meetings are typically very light, with the two most influential releases being the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment and the weekly Job Claims reports. The more positive news is mortgage lending rates have been on the decline in the last two weeks.
Consumer Credit Reports
Consumer sentiment fell in November for the fourth month in a row due to tensions with the Middle East and there is lingering hawkishness from the Federal Reserve, which could spell continued rate hikes in the future.
The preliminary reading of the sentiment survey declined to 60.4 from 63.8 in October, the University of Michigan said Friday, making it the weakest reading since May.
Primary Mortgage Market Survey Index
- 15-Yr FRM rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.22% with the current rate at 6.81%.
- 30-Yr FRM rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.26% with the current rate at 7.5%
MND Rate Index
- 30-Yr FHA rates increased week to week seeing a 0.20% increase for this week. Current rates at 6.91%
- 30-Yr VA rates increased week to week seeing a 0.04% increase for this week. Current rates at 6.74%
Jobless Claims
The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showed unemployment rolls rising to a six-month high.
Initial Claims have decreased to 217,000 compared to the expected claims of 220,000. The prior week was 220,000.
What’s Ahead
The next week will have much bigger market impacting data reports with the releases of CPI and PPI. There will also be a significant amount of the Federal Reserve members speaking throughout the week on rate policy decisions.
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About the Author:
Babak Moghaddam graduated from University of Southern California in 1985. He entered the mortgage industry as a compliance auditor at the Bank of New York in 1986 and completed his masters in Business Administration two years later. After seventeen years in the traditional mortgage banking world Babak finally transformed this vision into his own practice in 2002 when he formed Charter Pacific Lending Corp, a mortgage company that has provided over $900 Million in residential real estate loans throughout Southern California. Babak and his team do things a little differently than other mortgage providers. They work as financial advisors, because they have come to realize that a mortgage is a very powerful financial tool. And just like any other financial tool, it should be managed as part of the overall financial management plan to reach every home owner’s long and short-term financial goals much faster. You can contact Babak for a free consultation and strategy session at (800) 322-1217 X103.