Welcome to the Total Mortgage Current Mortgage Rates Blog. There’s some economic data out today, but first, your daily mortgage rate forecast/advice. Don’t feel like reading? Check out our Market Outlook series to see what’s happening this week.
Market Outlook 5.15.17 from Total Mortgage on Vimeo.
Where are mortgage rates going?
Mortgage rates tumble off Trump/FBI news
Treasury yields have taken a bit of a dive this morning after new revelations have further complicated the Trump/Comey situation. The news: a memo written by former FBI Director James Comey stating that President Trump said to him, “I hope you can let this go.”, referring to the FBI’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates (May. 17, 2017).
It’s by the the most serious blow to a Trump administration that has been trying to downplay any associations with Russia. The White House has come out and renounced these claims, stating that “This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey.” Any way you slice it, it’s a mess for the President Trump.
The market reaction has been swift, with all of the major stock market indices falling into the red. That’s the result of skittish financial market participants moving out of stocks and into the safer play of government bonds. When this happens, bond prices go up and yields fall. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is down eight basis points this morning, and it doesn’t seem like we’re even close to finding the bottom yet.
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That’s the lowest it’s been in four weeks. Mortgage rates tend to move in step with the 10-year yield, so rates are also moving lower today. Given that it’s such a light week for economic data, there was always the potential for external events to influence the markets, but no one could have guessed that a situation of this magnitude would occur.
It’s very difficult to say where we go from here. Mortgage rates are no doubt moving back down toward 2017 lows. How long they stay down there is anyone’s guess right now. If the political crisis for Trump continues to intensify, it’s entirely possible that rates tumble down even further.
June Rate Hike
It’s no surprise that the CME Group’s fed fund futures are showing a little less optimism today about a June rate hike. Just last week they had the chance of a quarter point increase next month at 87.7%. Right now they’re giving it a 69.2% chance.
The general sentiment has been that barring any chaotic events, a rate hike will happen. Again, depending on how the current situation unfolds with Trump, it could influence what the Fed decides to do in four weeks.
What does this mean for me?
Get in on the dip and lock a rate today.
Mortgage rates had been inching lower this week, but have taken a serious drop today. If you’ve been on the fence about a purchase or refinance, right now is a great time to hop off and lock a rate. Rates were already hovering near 2017 lows and have now moved lower by several basis points.
With political situations like this, it’s very hard to tell what will happen to rates over the next few days, so it makes sense to lock now while rates are low. If you can handle the risk, maybe you wait to see if the situation worsens for Trump and sends the markets into even more turmoil.
However, if you don’t want to deal with that roller coaster ride, you can rest assured that the current rate environment is already extremely favorable for borrowers.
To get the most accurate idea of what kind of rate we could offer, you should fill out our short form and get a personalized rate quote. If you’d rather talk to someone, you can always call one of our experienced mortgage specialists.
They can walk you through the same process, clarifying any questions you may have, and let you know what your custom rate quote is.
Today’s economic data:
EIA Petroleum Status Report
For the week of 5/12:
- Crude oil: -1.8 M barrels
- Gasoline: -0.4 M barrels
- Distillates: -1.9 M barrels
Notable events this week:
Monday:
- Empire State Mfg Survey
- Housing Market Index
Tuesday:
- Housing Starts
- Industrial Production
Wednesday:
- EIA Petroleum Status Report
Thursday:
- Jobless Claims
- Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook
- Fedspeak
Friday:
- Fedspeak
from Total Mortgage Underwritings Blog http://ift.tt/2qRWFcj
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