This week brings us the release of only two relevant monthly economic reports but neither of them is considered to be highly important. There are two important Treasury auctions this week that may influence mortgage rates more than the minor economic data that is scheduled. It is also a holiday-shortened week with the bond market closed Thursday in observance of the Veterans Day holiday. The stock markets will be open Thursday, but bonds will not be traded meaning that many lenders will be closed.

Neither of this week’s monthly economic reports is expected to lead to noticeable changes in mortgage rates. This means that the stock markets will likely be a significant influence on bond trading and mortgage rates in addition to the two particular Treasury auctions. If the stock markets extend their recent rally, we could see funds shift from bonds into stocks that potentially offer better returns. The Dow reached its highest level since September 2008 last week, therefore, all eyes will be watching to see if they can move much higher. If stocks fall from current levels early in the week, concerns about them being able to move much higher in the near future could lead to significant selling. That would make bonds more attractive to investors and lead to lower mortgage rates. Keep Reading...

This week brings us the release of four economic reports for the markets to digest, but none of them are considered to be highly important to mortgage rates. However, this by no means leads me to believe we will have an uneventful week. This will be an extremely busy week for corporate earnings, which usually translates into stock volatility. The lack of important economic data on this week’s calendar makes it more likely that any significant swings in stock prices will influence bond trading and Delaware mortgage rates. Keep Reading...

This week brings us the release of only two monthly economic reports that are likely to influence Delaware mortgage rates. However, one of those two releases is extremely important to the financial and mortgage markets. We start the week with one of them and end it with the more important one. In between, we can expect the stock markets to drive bonds prices and mortgage rates. If the major stock indexes extend September’s gains, the bond market will likely move lower this week. As bond prices drop, their yields move higher. And since mortgage rates tend to follow bond yields, we would prefer to see stock weakness and bond prices to move higher. Keep Reading...

This week brings us the release of five relevant economic reports for the bond market to digest in addition to two relevant Treasury auctions. There is nothing of importance scheduled for release tomorrow, so look for the stock markets to influence bond trading and possibly mortgage rates. Generally speaking, stock market strength makes bonds less appealing to investors and leads to higher mortgage pricing. But I would not be surprised to see a relatively calm day tomorrow as traders prepare for this week’s data. Keep Reading...

This week brings us the release of five relevant economic reports in addition to another FOMC meeting. Only one of the factual reports is considered to be of high importance. In fact, most of the economic news is considered to be low or moderately important. This should help limit the possibility of significant changes to mortgage rates most days this week.

August’s Housing Starts will kick-off the week’s data early Tuesday morning. This report will probably not have much of an impact on the bond market or mortgage rates. It gives us a measurement of housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand by tracking construction starts of new homes but is usually considered to be of low importance to the financial and mortgage markets. It is expected to show a slight increase in new home starts between July and August. I believe we need to see a significant surprise in this data for it to have an impact on mortgage rates. Keep Reading...

This week brings us the release of five relevant economic reports that may influence Delaware mortgage rates. A couple of these reports are considered to be highly important to the financial and mortgage markets, meaning that we may see significant changes to rates this week. There is a very good chance of seeing noticeable changes in rates at least one day, if not several days this week. There is no relevant news scheduled to be posted tomorrow, so look for the stock markets to be the biggest force behind bond trading and changes to mortgage pricing until we get to the data releases. Keep Reading...