Posted by Jason Evans on Tue, Dec 30, 2008 @ 11:50 AM
The consumer confidence report came out this morning and it was worse than expected. The reading shows consumer confidence at 38.0, lower than the expected level of 45.8. This is the lowest monthly reading ever reported by the Conference Board.
As we have discussed in the past, bad news for the economy normally leads to support for mortgage rates. This news that came out today shows that the economy will most likely not be starting a recovery anytime soon and should help keep mortgage rates from going much higher for now.
Mortgage Backed Securities have been under some year end selling pressure lately and the result is mortgage rates have come off their recent lows. The increase in mortgage rates have been minimized by the slow economy and economic reports, like the consumer confidence report from this morning, coming in worse than expected.
Mortgage interest rates are still near historic lows and offer a great opportunity to refinance into lower rates for many people. It is also a good time to take advantage of low house prices combined low fixed mortgage rates and look into buying a home.
You can always check the current mortgage rate options by checking the homepage of our website which is updated daily.
Posted by Jason Evans on Mon, Dec 22, 2008 @ 08:44 AM
Mortgage rates in Massachusetts look like they will begin the holiday shortened work week slightly higher after hovering around historic lows recently.
30 year fixed rates should still be available in the low 5% range this week. With so much uncertainty in the market it is hard to predict where rates will go on any given day. This is why it is important to lock an interest rate when one is available that makes sense for you to refinance at. There is no guarantee that rate will be available the next day.
There is not much news scheduled for this week that will have an impact on the mortgage market. We will update you though if any mortgage rate news comes out.