Rate Lock Advisory

Friday, February 22th

Friday’s bond market has opened in positive territory, recovering a good part of yesterday’s losses. Stocks are also showing early gains with the Dow up 116 points and the Nasdaq up 37 points. The bond market is currently up 11/32 (2.65%), which should cause this morning’s rates to be slightly better than Thursday’s early pricing. Some lenders may have revised rates higher later yesterday as bonds weakened. If your lender did revise higher intraday, then you should see more of an improvement in this morning’s pricing.

11/32

Bonds

30 yr - 2.65%

116

Dow

25,967

NASDAQ

7,497

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

30 Year Fixed
15 Year Fixed
5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Medium

Unknown

Fed Talk

Today has no relevant economic data set for release. We do have a few speaking engagements by current Fed members throughout the day. None of them are key or expected to fuel a big move in the markets. That said, any surprises in their speeches could draw a reaction big enough to cause a minor change in rates before the end of the day. If there are no surprises, they likely will have no influence on rates today.

High

Unknown

None

Next week is packed with mortgage-relevant events. There is something scheduled to take place each day of the week and several days have multiple items set. Some of the data are key reports, including a couple of important releases that were delayed due to the shutdown. In addition to the data, there are two moderately important Treasury auctions and the two-day semi-annual Fed testimony to congress. The week starts off fairly light with just the 5-year Treasury Note auction Monday, but from there it gets very active really quickly. Look for details on all of the week’s activities in Sunday evening’s weekly preview.

Float / Lock Recommendation

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.