Mortgage Rate Lock advisory for New York or Florida Mortgages for Monday, March 5, 2012

If you are looking for a Mortgage Professional who will give you the type of service that you deserve, contact Bob Amato (NMLS # 8632) and Empire Home Mortgage Inc. (NMLS # 44882). We answer our phones seven days a week until 9PM. Put us to the test! Our toll free number is (866) 742-5227.

 Visit our website, www.empirehomemortgageinc.com . There you can get answers to all of your financing questions, view rates and search for foreclosed properties.

 If you are considering locking in an interest rate for a New York mortgage or a Florida mortgage, read this post.

 Monday’s bond market has opened down slightly due to stronger than expected economic news even though we are seeing selling in stocks. The Dow is currently down 81 points while the Nasdaq has lost 17 points. The bond market is currently down 3/32, which may push this morning’s mortgage rates slightly higher than Friday’s morning pricing.

 The Commerce Department announced late this morning that new orders for durable and non-durable goods fell 1.0% in January. This was a much smaller decline than the 1.9% that was expected, hinting at a stronger manufacturing sector than many had thought. This makes the data negative for bonds and mortgage rates, but because it is considered to be only moderately important it has had a limited impact on this morning’s rates.

 The rest of the week has three government economic reports scheduled, but only one is considered to be highly important. The other reports are moderately important to the markets, meaning they have the potential to affect mortgage rates but usually don’t cause a noticeable change. The most important data comes at the end of the week, but sizable moves in stocks can impact bond trading and mortgage rates any day.

 Today’s early weakness in stocks is a good sign for bonds. The major stock indexes have been overdue for a pullback in my opinion, especially since they could not break and hold thresholds of 13,000 in the Dow and 3,000 for the Nasdaq. The Dow is below 12,900 at the moment. If stocks continue to slide with some momentum, we could see funds shift into bonds as a safe haven, driving mortgage rates lower.

 There is nothing of relevance scheduled for tomorrow, but look for a fairly active week overall in the markets and mortgage rates. The importance of the week’s data rises as the week’s progresses, ending with the almighty monthly Employment report Friday morning. That makes Friday the biggest of the week and we can label tomorrow as the best candidate for least important. Please be careful this week if still floating an interest rate, especially the latter part of the week.

 If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float 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.

 Empire Home Mortgage Inc. is a registered Mortgage Broker with the New York and Florida State Banking Departments and our loans are arranged through third party providers.