This Is The Week Ahead for December 20th

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

Another holiday shortened week will add to greater volatility as Santa and the Grinch try to impart their ways onto home loan shoppers.

Monday will start with mortgage bonds taking a back seat to the holiday whims of stocks as there are no scheduled economic reports.

With the release of November's Existing Home Sales on Tuesday, Realtors throughout the country will want to add their opinion on the health of the housing market. The overall economy will also be scrutinized as Third Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be released.

Wednesday has the potential to be see-saw day with several economic reports. The real estate industry will be focused on November's New Home Sales, while economists and analysts around the world will be focused on December's Consumer Sentiment Index (University of Michigan), November's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), Spending and Income. These reports hope to provide a more definitive stand on the inflation watch.

Thursday could end the week with a bang on a half day of trading with the release of weekly Jobless Claims (Initial) and November's Durable Goods Orders. The main questions that will be asked prior to Christmas will be 1) is the labor market improving and 2) did consumers actually buy big ticket items for the holidays.

Home loan shoppers and retirement funds will continue their battle for investment dollars from abroad and here in the US. As-is the par for the course, good economic news will favor the stock market and take money away from mortgage bonds which will result in higher mortgage rates. Conversely, bad economic news will drive investors into the safety of bonds which will help home buyers with lower mortgage rates.

Want to see what other economic reports might impact home buyers in the coming week? Stop by and check out the Mortgage Market Update Provided to You Exclusively by The Barath Group.

This Is The Week Ahead for December 20th.

Five Recent Blog Posts of Interest:

1. Weekly Blog Update for the Week Ending December 19th
2. December Holiday NWI Tweetup (#nwitweetup)
3. This Is The Week Ahead for December 13th
4. Weekly Blog Update for the Week Ending December 12th
5. Today's Real Estate Reality is Just What You Need

FEATURED Blog Posts on ActiveRain:

• Realtors®Please Stop with the New Listings!
• Existing-Home Sales Up, But Not All It's Cracked Up To Be!
• How Legitimate is the NAR Housing Affordability Index