Rate Lock Advisory - Friday Mar. 20th



Friday's bond market has opened in negative territory this morning with no relevant economic news to drive the markets. The stock markets are relatively flat with the Dow up a few points and the Nasdaq down the same. The bond market is currently down 6/32, which will likely push this morning's mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 - .250 of a discount point over yesterday's morning rates.

As expected, we saw some pressure in bonds late yesterday and this morning. This by no means is a point of concern for me. The selling or balancing of portfolios is common after such a drastic move in such a short period of time. I am still quite optimistic that mortgage rates still have more room to improve in the near future.

There are no relevant economic reports being released today. Fed Chairman Bernanke is giving a speech at noon today to a bankers' conference in Phoenix, Arizona. It is not considered to be an important speech that will likely affect the markets or mortgage rates. Whenever he speaks publicly there is always a possibility of the markets reacting, but the likelihood of seeing any reaction that will change mortgage rates is minimal in my opinion.

Next week is fairly busy with economic releases, but none are considered to be of extreme importance. There are reports scheduled for several days of the week, including Monday's posting of February's Existing Home Sales data. Look for more details on next week's events in Sunday evening's weekly preview.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float 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.