Rate Lock Advisory

Friday, October 18th

Friday’s bond market has opened down slightly despite favorable economic news and early stock losses. The Dow is currently down 71 points while the Nasdaq has gained 14 points. The bond market is currently down 2/32 (1.75%), which should help push this morning’s mortgage rates slightly higher than Thursday’s early pricing.

2/32

Bonds

30 yr - 1.75%

Dow

26,954

NASDAQ

8,142

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

30 Year Fixed
15 Year Fixed
5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Low

Positive

Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) from the Conference Board

Today’s only economic data was September's Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) at 10:00 AM ET. The Conference Board announced a 0.1% decline in the index when analysts were expecting to see a slight increase. The weaker reading is good news for bonds and mortgage rates since this index attempts to predict future economic growth. However, it is not considered to be a highly important report and has had a minimal impact on this morning’s rates.

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Unknown

None

Next week has several economic reports that we will be watching in addition to a couple of Treasury auctions. One of the reports is more important than the others but comes late in the week. There is nothing of importance set for Monday, meaning we can expect weekend news and possibly stock movement to drive bond trading and mortgage rates as the new week begins. Look for details on all of next 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.