Rates At a Glance

Rates At a Glance Mortgage Rates Currently Trending 7 Day Mortgage Rate Forecast This Week's Potential Volatility NEUTRAL NEUTRAL Average

Realtor Report Home Prices Continue to Rise: We have yet another positive housing report that shows continued growth in home prices. Data provider CoreLogic says home prices increased 8.8% in May compared to a year earlier. So, that means that the average homeowner enjoyed an 8.8% appreciation rate over the past 12 months. On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 1.2 percent from April to May. But CoreLogic's monthly figures aren't adjusted for seasonal patterns, such as warmer weather, which can affect sales. Prices increased the most in Western states, including Hawaii, California and Nevada. Last week, we reported that Pending Home Sales shot up 6.1% and the continued gains in housing are helping more and more homeowners climb back into positive equity territory. This new release supports pricing gains from other reports such as the Case-Shiller Home Price Index (+10.8% on a yearly basis) and the FHFA Home Price Index which showed a yearly gain of +6.6%. Regardless of which reading is the most accurate, consumers are now starting to understand that the likelihood that they will loose money after purchasing their next home has diminished greatly.

This Week's Mortgage Rate Summary How Rates Move: Conventional and Government (FHA and VA) lenders set their rates based on the pricing of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) which are traded in real time, all day in the bond market.  This means rates or loan fees (mortgage pricing) moves throughout the day, being affected by a variety of economic or political events.  When MBS pricing goes up, mortgage rates or pricing generally goes down.  When they fall, mortgage pricing goes up.  Tracking these securities real-time is critical.  For more information about the rate market, contact me directly.  I’m among few mortgage professionals who have access to live trading screens during market hours. Rates Currently Trending: Neutral Rates last week worsened slightly. The overall MBS market worsened last week by -65 basis points, which may mean worsening mortgage pricing. This Week's Rate Forecast: Neutral The rate markets are likely to be relatively tame this week after a news filled week last week.  The markets will continue to digest the employment numbers from last week that were better than expected with the economy adding 288K jobs in June and unemployment dropping to 6.1%.  Which simply put, a weaker economy is good for rates and a better economy is bad for rates. This Week's Potential Volatility: Average There will not be a lot of economic news this week to move the markets.  As a result, Sigma Research is not looking for a lot of volatility in the mortgage rate market this week.  However, international tensions are always in play for the rate market. Bottom Line: If you are looking for the risks and benefits of locking your interest rate in today or floating your loan rate, contact your mortgage professional to discuss it with them.