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Daily Market Update 7/27/22

Interest Rates, Real Estate, and the Economy Americans have overwhelmingly lost faith in the media, and for good reason.  Misinformation abounds, and news on the economy is no exception.  I am writing today to set the record straight on the relationship between actions by the Federal Reserve and mortgage rates, the local real estate market, […]

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Market Update 3/14/22

Mortgage rates surged Monday ahead of this week’s Fed meeting. Investors are anxious about the Federal Reserve’s plans to combat inflation, which was recently made more complicated by rising energy prices. Last week, the Consumer Price Index for January reported 7.9% year-over-year inflation, a 40-year high. The period covered in the report was prior to […]

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Mortgage Market Update 3/13/20

Mortgage rates moved higher Friday ending the most volatile week of mortgage-backed securities trading in over 30 years. Conventional 30-year fixed rates increased by 0.625% over the course of the week, largely driven by uncertainty over the impact of the coronavirus. An additional contributing factor is the mortgage industry’s struggle to meet the demands of […]

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Mortgage Market Update 1/10/2020

Mortgage rates inched lower Friday following the release of weaker than expected employment data. The economy added 145,000 jobs in December, below the consensus forecast of 160,000. The unemployment rate remained at 3.5%. Average hourly earnings fell short of expectations, rising 0.1% for the month and 2.9% over the past year, down from 3.1% last […]

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Mortgage Market Update 12/6/19

Mortgage rates faced upward pressure Friday following the release of stronger than expected employment data. This morning, the Labor Department reported an increase of 266,000 jobs in November, well above the consensus forecast of 185,000. In addition, previous monthly totals were revised higher by 41,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, matching a 50-year […]

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Mortgage Market Update 10/31/19

Mortgage rates inched lower ahead of this afternoon’s Fed announcement. The Federal Open Market Committee will wrap up its two-day meeting to discuss monetary policy at 2:00 PM and issue a policy statement. It is widely expected the Fed will lower short term rates by 0.25%, but investors will be largely focused on the accompanying […]

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Mortgage Market Update 9/19/19

Rates were little changed Thursday following yesterday’s Fed rate cut.  The Federal Reserve announced a 0.25% reduction in the Fed Funds Rate on Wednesday.  The move was widely anticipated by investors.  In other economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported existing home sales rose 1% in August to the highest level since March 2018, easily beating expectations.  […]

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Mortgage Market Update 9/6/19

Rates inched lower Friday following the release of key employment data for August.  The economy added 130,000 jobs last month, below the consensus forecast of 150,000.  In addition, downward revisions subtracted 20,000 jobs from prior months.  The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, as expected.  Average hourly earnings, an indicator of wage growth, rose 0.4%, beating […]

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Mortgage Market Update 8/21/19

Rates held steady Wednesday as newly released housing data came in close to expectations.  This morning, the National Association of Realtors announced July existing home sales rose 2.5% to an annual rate of 5.42 million units, slightly above forecast.  The inventory of existing homes available for sale was at a 4.2 month supply, 2% lower […]

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