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Mortgage Rate Lock Advsiory for New York and Florida Mortgage Rates For Thursday, July 26, 2012

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Mortgage and Lending with Bob Amato of Empire Home Mortgage Inc

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.

 Thursday’s bond market has opened in negative territory following the release of stronger than expected economic data and early stock strength. The major indexes are rallying this morning with the Dow up 158 points and the Nasdaq up 24 points. The bond market is currently down 4/32, which should push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 - .250 of a discount point.

 There were two pieces of economic data posted this morning. In the Durable Goods Orders report, the Commerce Department said that new orders for big ticket items rose 1.6% in June. This was much higher than the 0.3% increase that was expected, indicating manufacturing sector strength. However, a secondary reading that excludes more volatile transportation elated orders such airplanes, fell 1.1% when it was expected to fall only 0.1%. Still, the headline number is what draws the most attention, making the data neutral to slightly negative for bonds and mortgage rates.

 The Labor Department announced that 353,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week, falling well short of expectations. Analysts were expecting to see that 381,000 new claims were filed, hinting that the employment sector was much stronger than thought last week. This means the data should be construed as bad news for the bond market and mortgage rates. However, since it tracks only a single week’s worth of new claims and the postings have been extremely volatile the past couple releases, today’s results have had a minimal impact on today’s pricing.

 We also have today’s 7 year Treasury Note auction to deal with. Yesterday’s 5 year Note sale didn’t go so well with several indicators we use to measure investor demand showing below average interest. That did pressure bonds a little during afternoon trading yesterday, but not enough to cause lenders to revise their pricing. If today’s sale shows weak investor demand, we could see upward revisions to rates as these securities are more closer in term to mortgage bonds than yesterday’s were.

 There are two economic releases scheduled to be posted tomorrow morning. The first is the preliminary reading of the 2nd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is considered to be the best indicator of economic growth or weakness. It is the sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S. and usually has a great deal of influence on the financial markets. This reading is arguably the single most important we get regularly. Current forecasts are estimating that the economy grew at a 1.2% annual rate during the second quarter. A faster pace will probably hurt bond prices, leading to higher mortgage rates tomorrow. But a smaller than expected reading would likely fuel a bond market rally and lead to lower mortgage pricing.

 The week’s final piece of data is the revised reading to July's University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment that will help us measure consumer optimism about their own financial situations late tomorrow morning. This data is considered relevant because rising consumer confidence usually translates into higher levels of spending. This adds fuel to the economic recovery and is looked at as bad news for bonds. Tomorrow's release is an update to the preliminary reading we saw two weeks ago, so unless we see a drastic revision to the preliminary estimate of 72.0, I think the markets will probably shrug this news off.

 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.

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