Delaware Mortgage Rates weekly mortgage rate update for the Week of February 24, 2014, by John R. Thomas with Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. in Newark, Delaware. John Thomas is the Newark, Delaware Branch Manager and the author of the best selling book, Your Guide to Buying Your First Home in Delaware. Call 302-703-0727 to get a mortgage planning consultation or APPLY ONLINE for Delaware mortgage loan

Delaware Mortgage Rates moved higher as a two-week rally in the Stock Market pulled money from bonds and drove bond prices lower. If you look at the mortgage bond chart below you can see mortgage bonds have been selling off and moving lower since hitting high on February 17th. The short term trend is for mortgage bonds to move lower as bonds are being capped by the falling 200 days moving average. We are recommending LOCKING your Delaware mortgage rate to start the week as the short term trend is for mortgage bonds to move lower.

In Economic News, the Empire Manufacturing Index and the Philadelphia Fed Index both fell in February 2014 and came in well below expectations. These two reports show the manufacturing sector is struggling again. Measures of inflation for January 2014 still remain tame as the CPI came in at 1.5% year over year which is below the 2% target the Federal Reserve has set for inflation.

The Labor Market also continues to struggle as the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims on Thursday came in at 336,000 claims. Jobless claims still remain high in the 330s. We need the weekly initial jobless claims to start trending downward in order to get a meaningful recovery in the job market.

In Housing News, January 2014 Housing Starts declined by 16 percent from December 2013and have been declining since November 2013. Building Permits also declined by 5% in January 2014 and were below expectations. The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index came in at 46 which is the lowest reading since May 2013. The bad news in the housing sector is being blamed on the harsh winter weather which is limiting buyer traffic.

Existing Home Sales for January 2014 dropped by 5.1% which shows the housing market slowing. Existing home sales measure the home buyer activity in prior months because it is measuring the number of homes that closed that month. This means the slow down in Existing Home Sales cannot be blamed on the harsh winter weather as January closings were contracts that were written prior to the winter weather.

USDA Rural Housing Loan Update – USDA Home Loans Property Eligibility has been extended until 2020 with the passage of the Farm Bill H.R. 2642 the Agricultural Act of 2014. This means Middletown & Smyrna will be eligible until the 2020 Census Data is used to determine property eligibility. Read the full story at USDA Property Eligibility Update for 2020 Census

Call 302-703-0727 to schedule a 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 Delaware First Time Home Buyer Seminar is Saturday, March 22, 2014, in Newark, Delaware. Register by calling 302-703-0727 or Register online at http://www.DelawareHomeBuyerSeminar.com

Then next Maryland First Time Home Buyer Seminar is Saturday, February 22, 2014, in Towson, Maryland or Maryland First Time Home Buyer Seminar Saturday, March 22, 2014, in Rockville, Maryland. Register by calling 410-412-3319 or Register online at http://www.MarylandHomeBuyerSeminars.com.

If you would like to apply for a Mortgage Loan, you can APPLY ONLINE HERE, you can call John Thomas at 302-703-0727.

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