Raleigh mortgage rates were impacted last week by the ton of housing-related data that hit the street….both Housing Starts & Building Permits came in meeting expectations. Existing Home Sales was nearly inline with expectations.
Folks, the reports from last week may put Quantitative Easing or QE3 on the radar at the FED. The Raleigh – Cary housing market is heating up however the housing market on the aggregate remains fragile…the coming days & weeks I think will reveal if my thesis is correct or not. Raleigh mortgage rates have been moving upward & QE3 could stop this upwards movement. How? Here is the Kevin Martini break down…Raleigh mortgage rates are tied to bonds…if QE3 is a reality, then the FED will be buying bonds which will cause bonds to improve & as bonds improve so do Raleigh mortgage rates.
It is important to note that while Stocks saw some declines last week, Bonds were unable to build any positive momentum. This is eye-opening & does not look well for further price appreciation in Bonds. Whether the potential for QE3 helps Bonds and Raleigh mortgage rates in the future remains to be seen.
The bottom line is that Raleigh mortgage rates still remain near historic lows & now continues to be a great time to purchase or refinance a home. I invite you to call ,if I can answer any questions at all for you.
After last week’s housing data economic release calendar, this week’s calendar heats up with a ton of data.
- Pending Home Sales will be delivered on Monday and comes after last week’s so-so reports on the housing sector.
- Consumer Confidence and Consumer Sentiment will be released on Tuesday and Friday, respectively. The data will be closely watched to gauge how the consumer is holding up as economic news has been on the positive side.
- Wednesday brings the Durable Goods Report, which measures “big ticket” items that last for an extended time.
- Initial Weekly Jobless Claims will be released on Thursday. Jobless claims fell to the lowest level since February of 2008 last week as the sector continues to breathe life into the economy.
- Also on Thursday, the final read for Gross Domestic Product for the 4th quarter of 2011 will be released. In order for the U.S. economy to strengthen, we will have to see sustained growth in the form of the GDP.
- Friday brings a bunch of reports, including Personal Income and Spending, as well as the Chicago Manufacturing Report.
- We’ll also see the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures on Friday. This report provides insight into where inflation is at, so the data will be key to the Bond markets. As we know, higher inflation pushes Bond prices lower due to purchasing power loss that is associated with rising consumer prices. And, lower Bond prices can be bad news for Raleigh mortgage rates.
Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and Raleigh mortgage rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result.
No comments:
Post a Comment