Delaware Mortgage Rates weekly update for the Week of November 13, 2013, by John R. Thomas with Primary Residential Mortgage in Newark, Delaware. John Thomas 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 Surged Higher to end the week after a better than expected October Jobs Report was released. If you look at the mortgage bond chart below you can see the big red candle down on Friday which was a sell-off in mortgage bonds on Friday. Hopefully, you took our LOCK recommendation last week if not then we are recommending FLOATING your Delaware mortgage rate to start the week but be very cautious as mortgage rates could continue to climb higher if the markets feel the Feds will start tapering in December 2013 versus waiting until March 2014.

The October 2013 Jobs Report was released by the U.S. Labor Department and it came out much better than expected with 204,000 jobs created in October which was way above expectations of 100,000 jobs created. The report also revised August and September numbers higher by 60,000 jobs.  The unemployment rate moved up to 7.3% but the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) moved down to 62.8 from 63.2% which is a 35 year low. The LFPR should be moving up in an Economic Recovery as it measures the number of eligible workers 16 years and older that are working so when the number drops, it means there are fewer people working.

The Jobs Report was overall good so it caused a sell-off in the bond market as a good read on the economy is a reason for the Federal Reserve to start tapering its asset purchase program called QE3. The Feds are purchasing $85 Billion in mortgage bonds and treasuries every month. If the Feds start to reduce the amount they are purchasing each month (Tapering) then that would cause mortgage bonds to sell off and mortgage rates would rise.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reading for the third quarter of 2013 was released last week and it came in at 2.8% which was an increase from a 2nd quarter reading of 2.5%. The GDP is a measure of how much the economy is expanding. This reading was above expectations and was a good reading on the economy but in the report was also reading on Consumer Spending for Q3 and it dropped to 1.5% which is a 3 year low.  Consumer Spending is the main driver behind the U.S. Economy so a low consumer spending is a very bad news for the economy.

The Weekly Initial Jobless Claims was released on Thursday and came in at 336,000 jobless claims which were in line with expectations. The number is still high and is not a sign of an economic recovery. The jobless claims are still trending in the mid 300ks which is not a good sign for the labor market.

In Housing News, CoreLogic Home Price Index for September 2013 showed home prices rose by 12% from September 2012 to September 2013. This is higher than the 11.7% increase from August 2012 to August 2013.  This marks the 19th consecutive month of year over year price appreciation.

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, November 16, 2013, 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, November 16, 2013, in Towson, 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