Rate Update for July 23, 2008
Mortgages backed-bond prices remain at the lowest level all year which means mortgage rates are also at the highest level. Looking ahead there is a mixed bag of news which could influence the direction of rates.
Working in favor of mortgage rates this morning are a couple items:
*Oil prices are now trading 16% lower from there highs back on July 11th. Lower energy prices should ease inflationary concerns.
*Because mortgage-backed bond prices are trading at multi-month lows there is considerable technical trading support which should help keep prices from dropping any lower.
However, there continue to be factors working against the prospect of lower mortgage rates:
*The stock market continues to rally from its low. Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up over 70 points. .
*Furthermore, the treasury is set to auction $31 billion in 2-year Notes today. The added supply of fixed income securities in the marketplace could push rates higher.
In real estate related news, I have posted a new article to my blog about key points in the housing bill expected to get signed into law in the next week. Here is a link to read it for yourself.