Rate Lock Advisory

Friday, September 13th

Friday’s bond market has opened up slightly despite stronger than expected economic news. Stocks are also showing early gains with the Dow up 177 points and the Nasdaq up 75 points. The bond market is currently up 2/32 (3.66%), but we still should see a slight increase in this morning’s mortgage rates.

2/32


Bonds


30 yr - 3.66%

177


Dow


41,274

75


NASDAQ


17,645

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

  • 30 Year Fixed
  • 15 Year Fixed
  • 5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Low


Negative


Treasury Auctions (5,7,10,20,30 year)

Yesterday’s 30-year Treasury Bond auction was not nearly as successful as Wednesday’s 10-year Note sale. The benchmarks we use to gauge investor demand indicated a relatively weak interest in the securities, pointing to a waning demand for long-term bonds. Fortunately, we didn’t see a noticeable reaction in the broader bond market after results were posted at 1:00 PM ET. This prevented an intraday increase in mortgage pricing.

Medium


Negative


Univ of Mich Consumer Sentiment (Prelim)

The University of Michigan gave us today’s sole relevant economic release when they announced their September Index of Consumer Sentiment at 10:00 AM ET. It came in at 69.0, up from August’s 67.9 and higher than forecasts of 68.0. This means surveyed consumers felt a little better about their own financial situations this month than they did last month. Since higher levels of sentiment usually translate into stronger consumer spending numbers that fuel economic growth, we have to label this report bad news for mortgage rates.

High


Unknown


Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Statement

Next week is certainly going to be active in terms of market and mortgage rate movement. There is nothing of relevance scheduled for Monday, but Tuesday brings a highly important measure of consumer spending, a moderately influential manufacturing report and another afternoon Treasury auction. They will be followed by the much-anticipated FOMC meeting adjournment Wednesday afternoon. This is where the Fed is widely expected to cut key short-term interest rates for the first time since March 2020. There are other events during the week that carry less significance also. Look for details on all of next week’s activities in Sunday evening’s weekly preview.

Float / Lock Recommendation

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.