March 31st, 2017 6:05 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 3/31/17Friday's bond market has opened in positive territory following favorable economic news. The major stock indexes are reacting somewhat negatively, with the Dow down 45 points and the Nasdaq down 2 points. The bond market is currently up 4/32 (2.40%), which should keep this morning's mortgage rates very close to yesterday's morning levels.February's Personal Income & Outlays report was the first of this morning's two economic reports. The Commerce Department announced a 0.4% increase in income and a 0.1% rise in spending. The income reading pegged expectations while the spending was slightly lower than the 0.2% that was forecasted. The data indicates that consumers had more money to spend last month than they did in January but actually spent less than many had thought. Because consumer spending makes up over two-thirds of the U.S. economy and bonds tend to thrive in weaker economic conditions, we can consider the data slightly favorable to bonds and mortgage rates.The second report March's revised Consumer Sentiment Index from the University of Michigan. It came in at 96.9, short of the 97.6 preliminary reading that was posted earlier this month. The decline means fewer surveyed consumers felt better about their own financial situations than previously thought. That also is good news for mortgage shoppers since weaker levels of confidence usually means consumers are going to spend less in the immediate futureNext week does not have many economic reports scheduled, but most of what is being released is highly important to the financial and mortgage markets. It starts Monday with the release of the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index late morning and ends with the release of the almighty monthly Employment report Friday. Look for details on all of next week's mortgage-relevant events in Sunday evening's weekly preview.If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would....Lock if my closing were taking place within 7 days...Lock if my closing were taking place between 8 and 20 days...Float if my closing were taking place between 21 and 60 days...Float if my closing were taking place over 60 days from now...This is only my opinion of what I would do if I was financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.**http://www.hlmcolorado.com/DailyRateAdvisory
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