Truro, MA

Trend and Forecast in Mortgage Rates on July 28, 2010 - Improving, or...?

Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today:

What Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) Are Doing Today:

• The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.0% MBS coupon opened at 101.84 this morning - the same as yesterday's close.
  
  
• At 9:30 AM, the 4.0% MBS coupon was trading at 101.89 - up 2/32 from its opening.

Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes down, the yield goes up - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be about the same in price this morning as compared to yesterday.

Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:

The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.0% coupon over the past 30 days from 6-28-2010 to 7-28-2010:

Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Rates Today:

• Durable Goods Orders Report - there was an overall 1.0% decline in new durable goods orders in June, worse than the 1.0% rise that was expected. This follows a 0.8% decline in May, and increases in each of the previous 5 months. When the transportation component is excluded, new durable goods orders fell 0.6% which follows a 1.2% increase in June. Year-on-year, overall new orders for durable goods are up 15.9%, and follows a 15.2% increase in April. This data is usually not considered to be very important to the mortgage market and had no effect on mortgage rates this morning.

In other news, the Beige Book will be released at 2 pm this afternoon. The Beige Book is released two weeks ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) monetary policy meetings, and the Fed relies heavily on this data during their FOMC meetings. Look for a potential market reaction to the release of the Beige Book during afternoon trading hours.

The Treasury Dept. will be auctioning $37 billion in 5-Year Notes today. The Notes are used to finance the massive government debt. If there is a strong demand for the Notes, we should see the bond market move higher (resulting in lower mortgage rates) during afternoon trading. However, a lackluster interest from buyers, particularly international investors, would indicate a waning appetite for longer-term U.S. securities and lead to a broader selling in bonds and mortgage backed securities. The selling of mortgage backed securities could result in higher mortgage rates.

Trend in Mortgage Rates:

The chart below shows the trend in mortgage rates over the past 3 years:

Mortgage Rate Forecast:

Mortgage rates are at their historic lows - they haven't been this low since the early 1950s. They could possibly go even lower as the global economic crisis continues. However, the stock market is over sold while the bond market is over bought. It also appears that banks in Europe are not as bad off as previously thought. Mortgage rates could head up soon as the markets begin to correct themselves. As such, I would not risk the chance waiting for lower mortgage rates.

If you're happy with the mortgage rate being offered to you today and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in now. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.

Are you in need of a mortgage to purchase a home? Or want to refinance an existing mortgage into a lower permanent fixed rate? Or want to take cash out of the equity of your home? Or consolidate debt and reduce the monthly bills? Then be sure to request a mortgage rate quote today!

The Trend in Home Sales in Truro MA - Improving, or...?

Home prices in Truro on average are falling! Home prices have fallen 10.6% since June of 2009.

The current average listing price of homes for sale in Truro MA is $997,407, down 4.0% from a month ago. Compare this to the current median sales price of $522,500 - where half of sales are above this amount and half below it.

Both 2 and 3 bedroom homes are selling for more. Prices of 2 bedroom homes are up 38.8% while prices of 3 bedroom homes are up 48.5%. Below is a chart of the trend of median prices of homes for sale in Truro MA over the past 5 years through June 2010:

Truro Recently Sold Homes

While cyclical, the number of sales have been relatively flat for all styles of homes in the past 5 years, but are up slightly from just a few months ago:

Truro Recently Sold Homes

So what does all this mean? Well, if you're looking for a home in the town of Truro, you better not mess around too much. While sales are overall are relatively flat, even though prices of homes have fallen in the past year, they have been climbing over the past 5 years.

While sellers aren't in control of this market, buyers still should be reasonable in their offers when negotiating. Be sure to contact me, Lew Corcoran, toll free at 1-800-984-3341, when you're looking to get pre-approved for a purchase of your next home. Otherwise you may end up frustrated, disappointed and, unfortunately, perhaps misled.

Mortgage Rate Forecast for Massachusetts for April 29, 2010

Here are some of the events affecting mortgage rates today in Massachusetts:

What Mortgage Backed Securities Are Doing Today:

• The price of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% MBS coupon opened at 100.41 this morning - same as yesterday's close.
  
  
• At 9:30 AM, the 4.5% MBS coupon was trading at 100.44 - up !/32 from its opening.

Remember, on mortgage backed securities (MBSs), as the price goes up, the yield comes down - and so do mortgage rates. I expect that mortgage rates will be about the same in price this morning as compared to yesterday.

Price Trend in Mortgage Backed Securities:

The chart below shows the price trend of the FNMA 30-Year 4.5% coupon over the past 30 days from 3-30-2010 to 4-29-2010:

Economic Reports, News, and Events Affecting Mortgage Interest Rates in Massachusetts Today:

• Jobless Claims - 448,000 new claims for unemployment were filed last week, the lowest level in 4 weeks. This is 1,000 more than expected, but 11,000 less than the previous week. The four-week average for unemployment is up by 1,500 to 462,500. Continuing claims for the week of April 17 fell by 18,000 to 4.645 million. All signs indicate the economy has been recovering of late - but without an increase in jobs. This data is usually not considered to be very important to the mortgage market and had no effect on mortgage rates this morning.

The Treasury Dept. will be auctioning $32 billion of 7-Year Notes today. The Notes and Bonds are used to finance the massive government debt. If there is a strong demand for the Notes, we should see the bond market move higher (resulting in lower mortgage rates) during afternoon trading. However, a lackluster interest from buyers, particularly international investors, would indicate a waning appetite for longer-term U.S. securities and lead to a broader selling in bonds and mortgage backed securities. The selling of mortgage backed securities could result in higher mortgage rates.

What's Happening With Mortgage Interest Rates in Massachusetts Today:

Moderate to High Volatility. Mortgage rates are off their historic lows, and while they rose significantly a couple of weeks ago, they have since come back down a bit. But this may be temporary.

The overall economy is improving without any increase in jobs. The Fed has also ended their purchases of mortgage backed securities. In addition, the federal deficit continues to grow while demand for US debt is waning. We're also entering the prime home selling and buying season. Historically, mortgage rates rise and fall with the thermometer. Usually from this time of the year and into the summer months, as the weather warms, mortgage rates rise.

As such, there's little or no potential for lower mortgage rates anytime soon. If you're happy with the interest rate being offered to you today and if you don't want to risk mortgage rates moving higher, then you should apply and lock in now. It's better to have locked when you should have floated than it is to float when you should have locked.

If I were applying for a mortgage today, I would lock in my rate. However, if I were to continue floating my rate, I would proceed with caution and maintain contact with my mortgage professional. I would be ready to lock in at a moment's notice as mortgage rates can change for the worse.

Be sure to check out today's Massachusetts mortgage rates.