Weekly Mortgage Market Update for January 04, 2018

For the Week Ending January 5, 2018

Please enjoy this quick update on what happened this week in the housing and financial markets.

Tax reform passed for 2018 is expected to spur more economic growth. A stronger economy could pressure mortgage rates higher through 2018.

The minutes from the Fed's last meeting showed concerns over sluggish inflation. The lack of inflation has helped to keep mortgage rates low in the past.

The labor market continues to show strength. The private sector added 250,000 jobs in December, the biggest increase since March.

Home prices continue to soar. CoreLogic reports for November 2017 show that home prices were up year-over-year by 7%, the 4th consecutive month of growth.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is considering the VantageScore model instead of FICO for mortgage lending. This could result in more qualified buyers.

The final tax reform plan changed the mortgage deduction on new loans from a cap of $1 million to $750,000, with an additional $100,000 for home equity loans.

My New Year's resolution is to help all my friends gain ten pounds so I look skinnier.

Rate movements and volatility are based on published, aggregate national averages and measured from the previous to the most recent midweek daily reporting period. These rate trends candiffer from our own and are subject to change at any time.