Delaware Mortgage Rates weekly update for the Week of May 19, 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 ended the week at lows not seen since November 2013. If you look at the mortgage bond chart below you can see mortgage bonds hit highs from October 2013 on Thursday but then sold off and are hanging at support. We are recommending FLOATING your Delaware Mortgage Rate to start the week as long as bonds remain above the level of support. If bonds drop below support we will quickly switch to a locking stance.

In Economic News, we saw inflation at both the wholesale level and the consumer level starting to hear up. The Producer Price Index (PPI) which measures inflation at the wholesale level increased 0.6% in April 2014 and is up 2.1% year over year. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation at the consumer level increased by 0.3% and is up 2% year over year. These numbers are right at the high end of the Feds target level which is concerning for mortgage bonds.

The Commerce Department released Retail Sales for April 2014 and it came in at a disappointing 0.1% which is a big drop from 1.5% in March 2014. This is very disappointing in that most economists were expecting a much better number after the harsh winter kept retail sales low.

Thursday the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell to the lowest level since May 2007 at 297,000 claims. This was down 24k claims from last week and well below expectations of 325,000 claims. This is very encouraging news for the Labor Market if jobless claims can stay below the 300k level. But we must also watch to make sure claims aren’t down because people dropped out of the workforce or had benefits expire.

In Housing News, Housing Starts for April 2014 came in at 1.072 Million Units which is an increase of 13.2% from March 2014 reading. Housing Starts are now up 26% for the year and the number was better than expected. Housing Starts measures the number of new homes that were started by Home Builders for the month. Building Permits for April 2014 were also up and came in at 1.080 Million units which are up 8% from last month. This is encouraging news on new home construction heading into the Spring and Summer Markets.

The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index for May 2014 came in at 45 which is below expectations of 49 and the lowest number in a year. This number tracks builders sentiment on the market for new home construction. The number could be coming in lower because of the rise in Median Home Price could have builders fearing a slow down in the housing market. This weaker Builder Sentiment could signal price reductions in New Home Construction.

USDA Announces Increased Turn Times to review files for USDA Rural Housing Loan Commitment. The current turn time is 11 Business days and effective May 20, 2014, the turn time for Delaware and Maryland USDA loans will move to 30 business days. Below is the excerpt from an e-mail sent out by USDA director:

“After careful review, USDA Rural Development in Delaware and Maryland will move to a thirty (30) day turn time for Single Family Guaranteed loan applications on May 20, 2014. We understand your need for a level of certainty with regards to our review time in order for you to schedule work.  Hopefully, this notice will help you with that schedule. As always, we will continue to review how we do business and make improvements accordingly.”

FHA Announced a new Program called HAWK that will be released later this year. The four-year, two-phase pilot program, called Homeowners Armed With Knowledge or HAWK, will offer a 50 basis point reduction in the upfront mortgage insurance premium and a 10 basis point reduction in the annual premium at the time of loan origination to first-time homebuyers who complete the program. Loans that remain in good standing will also receive reductions, which could add up to thousands of dollars in savings for homebuyers over the life of their loan. Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. is being considered as one of the mortgage lenders to pilot the program.

The next Delaware First Time Home Buyer Seminar is Saturday, June 21, 2014, in Newark, Delaware and the Dover Delaware Home Buyer Seminar is Saturday, June 14, 2014, in Dover, 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, May 24, 2014, n Towson, Maryland, and Maryland First Time Home Buyer Seminar June 7, 2014, in Clinton, 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