Mortgage Rate Update March 2, 2015

Mortgage rates are essentially unchanged from last Thursday.

Thank goodness February is over.  It was a tough month for mortgage rates as they increased by ~.25% across the board.  Will March be better?  So far no good.

US stocks are starting the new month higher.  The NASDAQ briefly traded at 5,000 earlier today.  The all-time high for the technology focused composite is 5,032 set in March of 2000.  Good news for stocks is often bad news for interest rates.

It’s a busy week for economic news.  Earlier today the Fed’s favorite gauge of inflation was released.  The Personal Consumption Expenditure price index showed that inflationary pressure in the US economy remains low.  This is good news for mortgage rates and gives the Fed more time before they start boosting short-term rates.

This week is jobs week and Friday’s all-important employment report is likely to have a significant impact on the direction of interest rates.  Currently expectations are for ~225,000 new jobs.

From a technical perspective the US 10-year treasury is trading back above 2.02% which is not great for mortgage rates.  We shifted to a near-term locking bias last Thursday and will remain in locking mode for now.

Current Outlook: locking