Mortgage Rate Update May 13, 2013

Posted on by Evan in Rate Update

Mortgage rates are worse this Monday morning as we start a new week.  As was forecasted in the ‘rate update’ on May 6th, as soon as mortgage-backed bonds (MBS’s) broke below the 200-day moving average rates have been trending higher.

The Wall Street Journal reported THIS STORY over the weekend that the Fed has mapped out an outline of how to unwind quantitative easing measures which is currently credited with helping to keep mortgage rates near all-time low levels.

THE WSJ REPORTED OVER THE WEEKEND THAT THE FED HAS OUTLINED A PLAN TO UNWIND QE.
THE WSJ REPORTED OVER THE WEEKEND THAT THE FED HAS OUTLINED A PLAN TO UNWIND QE.

Although there is currently no timeline or explicit commitment to initiate the steps the release of this news is a bearish signal for mortgage rates.

This morning’s retail sales report showed better than expected sales growth.  Good news for the economy is often bad news for mortgage rates.  The rest of the week is full of significant economic releases including inflation figures (Wed. + Thurs.), industrial production (Wed.), and consumer sentiment (Friday).

In case you missed it, the National Association of Realtors released THIS QUARTERLY REPORT last week which showed substantial appreciation for median home prices in metropolitan areas.  Specifically, the median home price in Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton increased by 18.2% from last year.

Current Outlook: locking bias