Welcome to the Total Mortgage Current Mortgage Rates Blog. There’s a decent bit of economic data out today, but first, your daily mortgage rate forecast/advice.
Where are mortgage rates going?
Markets are calm ahead of FOMC meeting
There’s not much going on today, economic data wise. The major stock market indexes are all basically hovering around where they opened. All eyes are, of course, on the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting, which begins tomorrow and concludes on Wednesday. A written statement will be released at 2:00pm and Fed Chair Janet Yellen will participate in a question and answer session with reporters around 2:30pm.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates (Mar. 13, 2017).It’s typical for investors to go into wait and see mode ahead of FOMC meetings, so the current muted market environment was expected. However, with this meeting, the conversation is less about what they will do (a quarter point increase in the federal funds rate to 0.75%-1.00% is a virtual lock) and more about what type of language they will use to discuss the economy. With the current rate hike solidified, investors are left to concern themselves with when the next rate hike will happen.
The Fed had previously stated that three rate hikes could happen in 2017, and financial market participants will be keenly watching to see if any adjustments have been made to that position. If they do continue with that scenario, it would most likely mean another increase sometime over the summer (possibly June), and another later in the year (maybe December).
So what does this all mean for mortgage rates? Well, as a general rule of thumb, when the economy does well, mortgage rates rise. Therefore, any language from the Fed that reflects confidence in the economy puts upward pressure on rates. Investors have largely priced in their belief in a rate hike on Wednesday, so there won’t be a huge spike once the announcement happens.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates (Mar. 13, 2017).With expectations so high, the real opportunity for rates to move comes from any unforeseen surprises. Maybe the fed comes off as slightly more dovish/hawkish than most investors thought they would. That would ruffle some feathers (especially if dovish) and rates could potentially fall. In all likelihood, though, the Fed will come out and raise rates and they won’t say anything too revealing, causing mortgage rates to move neutral to slightly higher.
What does this mean for me?
Anyone who is on the market for a new home or a refinance should certainly be keeping an eye on the FOMC meeting this week. Depending on what is said and how the markets react, there could be a good opportunity for borrowers. In the long-run, it still seems like mortgage rates are trending higher, which means that borrowers are probably better off acting sooner rather than later.
Today’s economic data:
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta named Raphael Bostic as successor to their current President Dennis Lockhart. The transition ill take place on February 28.
Notable events this week:
Monday:
- New Atlanta Fed President
Tuesday:
- FOMC Meeting Begins
- PPI-FD
Wednesday:
- Consumer Price Index
- Retail Sales
- Empire State Mfg
- Housing Market Index
- EIA Petroleum Status Report
- FOMC Meeting Ends/Yellen Press Conference
Thursday:
- Housing Starts
- Jobless Claims
- Philly Fed Business Outlook Survey
Friday:
- Industrial Production
- Consumer Sentiment
from Total Mortgage Underwritings Blog http://ift.tt/2mBYjK7
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