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Thursday's bond market has opened in negative territory again as investors sell holding to capture profits form the recent rally. The stock markets are showing minor losses with the Dow down 2 points and the Nasdaq down 10 points. The bond market is currently down 2/32, which will likely push this morning's mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.
The Labor Department posted weekly unemployment figures this morning, saying that 322,000 new claims for benefits were filed last week. This was close to forecasts and has not had an impact on bond trading or mortgage rates.
The week's most important news will come tomorrow morning when the Commerce Department will post July's Durable Goods Orders. This will give us an important measure of manufacturing sector strength. This data tracks orders at U.S. factories for big-ticket items, or products that are expected to last three or more years. A smaller increase than the expected 1.0% rise would indicate that the manufacturing sector is not as strong as thought. This would be good news for bonds and should lead to lower mortgage rates.
Also scheduled for release tomorrow is July's New Home Sales data. This report is the least important release of the week. It will give us an indication of housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand, but usually doesn't have a major impact on bond prices or mortgage rates. If it indicates that the housing sector is still rapidly weakening, it may help push bond prices higher and mortgage rates slightly lower. But with the Durable Goods report being of much more significance to the markets, it will likely influence mortgage rates much more then the housing report will.
If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Lock 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.
Please let me know if I can provide loan information for any of your clients. I would be happy to quickly pre-qualify them, provide loan scenarios, or help improve their credit position to obtain a lower interest rate.
I am here to provide you and your clients with exceptional service in a courteous and respectful manner.
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