The Mortgage Interest Rate Lock Advisory for Chatham MA for January 20, 2010

The Mortgage Interest Rate Lock Advisory for Chatham MA for January 20, 2010

Here are some of the events affecting mortgage interest rates today in Chatham, MA.

What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:

• The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 100.66 this morning - the same as yesterday's close.
  
  
• The 4.5% MBS coupon is currently trading at 100.87 - up 7/32 from its opening.

Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:

The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 12-21-2009 to 1-20-2010:

Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes up, the yield comes down - and mortgage interest rates come down with it. I expect that mortgage interest rates will be 0.125% - 0.375% better in price this morning as compared to yesterday.

Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates Today

• Producer Price Index (PPI) for December - was up 0.2%, more than expected, but much less than the 1.8% increase in November. This means that prices paid at the producer level rose a little more than thought. Rising prices are inflationary and tend to have a negative impact on the mortgage market. However, at the core level, there was no change after jumping 0.5% in November. The core level excludes the more volatile food and energy prices. This led to lower mortgage interest rates this morning.
  
  
  
• Housing Starts for December - housing starts slowed in December. Housing starts fell 4.0% to an annualized rate of 557,000 units in December after rising 10.7% to an annualized rate of 574,000 units in November. This indicates that the housing sector is not recovering as well as previously thought. However, the number of housing permits issued rose 10.9% in December after follows a 6.9% increase the previous before. This means that builders have a more optimistic outlook on the housing market. Usually this report has little to no impact on the mortgage market or mortgage interest rates.  

What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates Today:

Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage interest rates are still at historic lows. There's not much potential for MBS prices to tick higher (lower mortgage rates) as the Fed begins winding down their stimulus programs soon as it appears the overall economy is improving. There's also the fear of inflation.

If you're happy with the rate being offered to you and don't want to risk mortgage interest rates moving higher, you should apply and lock in today. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.

Mortgage rates are currently improving. If you have not yet locked in your mortgage interest rate yet, please proceed with caution and maintain contact with your mortgage professional and rates can change for the worse - often without notice.

Get current mortgage interest rates for your situation in Chatham, MA.