Delaware mortgage rate weekly mortgage market update for the week of April 29, 2013, by John R. Thomas with Primary Residential Mortgage in Newark, Delaware. John is the Newark, Delaware Mortgage Branch Manager and the author of the book, Your Guide to Buying Your First Home in Delaware. Call 302-703-0727 to get a free mortgage planning consultation or APPLY ONLINE for Delaware mortgage loan.

Delaware mortgage rates moved back to the all-time historic lows on Friday as mortgage bonds jumped higher after the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2013 came in worse than expected at 2.5% versus expectations of about 3.1%. As you can see from the Mortgage Bond Chart below, mortgage bonds rallied to end the week and set an upward trend for the bond. This will allow us to recommend cautiously FLOATING your Delaware mortgage rate to start the week. But locking anything closing in the next 30 days may be prudent.

In housing news, we saw New Home Sales for March 2013 come in at 417,000 units which were right at expectations. Existing Home Sales for March 2013 actually came in lower than expected at 4.92 million units which were a 0.6 percent drop from February 2013 but it was still higher than March 2012 which was 4.48 million units.

FHA Update – HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan stated that there will be no more increases to FHA mortgage insurance premiums because the FHA single-family loan program is cash flowing again and that is has a $4 Billion surplus.

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims were reported on Thursday and the number of filings dropped by 16,000 to come in at 339,000 claims. This number was below expectations of 351,000. The report could be showing the labor market not as bad as March jobs report suggested but what we really need to look at is the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) which is at the lowest point it has been since 1979. The LFPR measures the number of people employed that are eligible to work. So even though the unemployment rate has been coming down, it is not because people are going back to work but are no longer counted in the unemployment calculation.

Adding to weak economic reports last week, we saw the Durable Goods Orders for March 2013 drop by 5.7% which was below expectations of only a 3.1% decline. Durable goods are products that will last for an extended period of time. This report again shows that the economy is just limping along.

In Local News, New Castle County DPS Down Payment Assistance Program will be back July 1, 2013, when the program gets refunded. The program lends up to $5,000 for first time home buyers purchasing in New Castle County, Delaware.

I am recommending FLOATING your Delaware Mortgage Rate as mortgage bonds just broke through the ceiling of resistance on Friday so can start the week floating but if bonds sell off, we would quickly switch to a locking stance. Call 302-703-0727 to schedule a free mortgage consultation to get pre-approved for a mortgage to purchase a home or to refinance your existing mortgage to lower your rate and save thousands of dollars in interest. There are several special governments refinance programs to help underwater Delaware homeowners refinance. There is the FHA Streamline Refinance Program, the VA IRRRL Streamline Refinance Program, and there is the HARP 1.0 and HARP 2.0 refinance programs. Call us or e-mail us now to get more information or you can APPLY ONLINE.

The next Free Delaware First Time Home Buyer Seminar is Saturday, May 11, 2013, in Newark, Delaware and Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Dover, Delaware. Register by calling 302-703-0727 or Register online at http://www.delawarehomebuyerseminar.com/

Then next Free Maryland First Time Home Buyer Seminar is Saturday, May 11, 2013, in Towson, Maryland. Register by calling 410-412-3319 or Register online at http://www.MarylandHomeBuyerSeminars.com

John R. Thomas – NMLS 38783

Certified Mortgage Planner – Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.

302-703-0727 DE Office / 610-906-3109 PA Office / 410-412-3319 MD Office

248 E Chestnut Hill Rd, Newark, DE 19713