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Brought to you by:
Jonathan Bowen
Branch Manager
Office: 800-394-5252
Cell: 401-829-1929
jbowen@envoymtg.com
89 Mussey Road
Scarborough, ME 04074
www.envoymortgagemaine.com
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New Home Sales Continue To Rise:
Investors cheered yet another
U.S. report showing signs of improvement in the housing market.
The Commerce Department report showed US new home sales rose for the
third straight month in row, increased by 1.6% to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 315,000 from October.
Even as the pace of gain was smaller than 2.6% forecast by economists,
investors took comfort in that housing data released in recent days
have started to show stabilization, and given that the housing market
is one of a major contributors to the economy, it could provide some
support for the economic growth next year.
New
homes account for just a fraction of the housing market, but they have
a big impact on the economy. Each new home built creates roughly three
jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the
National Association of Home Builders.
What Happened to Rates Last Week:
Mortgage backed securities (MBS) lost -82 basis points from last
Friday to the prior Friday which moved mortgage rates higher.
We had a mixed bag of U.S. economic data.
The 3rd quarter GDP number was revised
downward from 2.0% to 1.8% but Durable Goods Orders, Initial
Jobless Claims and New Home Sales were much better than expected.
We saw strong demand for the U.S. 2 and 5 year Treasury auctions but
demand for the 7 year Treasury auction fell sharply which was a
negative for mortgage rates.
Traders sold off MBS on the positive economic news and the
relatively weak 7 year Treasury auction which pushed mortgage rates
higher.
What to Watch Out For This Week:
The following are the major
economic reports that will hit the market this week. They each
have the ability to affect the pricing of Mortgage Backed Securities
and therefore, interest rates for Government and Conventional
mortgages. I will be watching these reports closely for you and
let you know if there are any big surprises:
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Date
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Time
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Economic
Event
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25-Dec
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19:00
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Christmas
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27-Dec
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9:00
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S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (YoY)
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27-Dec
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10:00
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Consumer Confidence
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27-Dec
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10:00
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Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
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28-Dec
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7:00
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MBA Mortgage Applications
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29-Dec
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8:30
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Continuing Jobless Claims
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29-Dec
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8:30
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Initial Jobless Claims
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29-Dec
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9:45
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Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index
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29-Dec
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10:00
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Pending Home Sales (MoM)
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29-Dec
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10:30
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EIA Crude Oil Stocks change
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30-Dec
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14:00
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MBS Market Closes Early
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It
is virtually impossible for you to keep track of what is going on with
the economy and other events that can impact the housing and mortgage
markets. Just leave it to me, I monitor the live trading of
Mortgage Backed Securities which are the only thing government and
conventional mortgage rates are based upon.
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