THE NEW NORMAL is what this week is all about. The economic data shows that the pace of the recovery has slowed. While new home sales came in above last month's numbers, the level is still low by comparison to prior years. Businesses are ordering less durable goods (big stuff) and unemployment remains stubborn. But this does NOT mean that the recovery is ending. It DOES mean that we are in a ‘new normal'.
The economic melt down that occurred in ‘07 and ‘08 … (2 comments)
There was some good news on jobless claims this week showing that the economy continues to add jobs. But the housing data came out weak, overshadowing the jobs numbers and confirming that our recovery has its ups and downs. Building permits, housing starts and existing home sales all came in lower than last month. A weak week means inflation is still not in the picture and consequently rates dropped a bit. Good news for home buyers. But when I went grocery shopping this week it got me started thinking about the low inflation numbers that are helping to … (4 comments)
Good news this week as inflation is not really showing up in the core PCE index - the Fed's measure of inflation. It came in just under 1%. If you are a long time reader, you know that inflation is the main force that moves rates up or down. For this reason, and with the help of the Fed's continued buying of mortgage backed securities, mortgage rates actually dipped a bit this week. QE2, which is Fed speak for printing money to buy U.S. treasuries and mortgage backed securities, will continue through June. The Fed is … (0 comments)
weekly mortgage commentary: Friday Mortgage Wrap Up
- 04/08/11 06:32 AM
Friday Mortgage Wrap Up Rates continue to rise this week as the European Central Bank raised their rate .25%. This signaled that at least the Europeans are acknowledging the threat of inflation. This depressed the value of the dollar relative to the Euro and created upward pressure on rates in the US. But the Fed announced that they will continue to buy bonds per their schedule and not terminate their QE II program prematurely, and this is helping to keep rates from going up too fast. So, like the economy, rates continue their slow but relentless march upward. As I've … (0 comments)
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