It’s the same story this morning as yesterday. Mortgage note rates are unchanged but associated closing costs are slightly higher.
Uncertainty persists in Europe which is a main factor for keeping mortgage rates low here in the US. The European Central Bank reported that 523 Euro-zone banks accessed a combined $640 billion in loans earlier today. The demand was much stronger than analysts had expected. Now investors are debating the reason why. Is the European financial system more fragile that previously thought? Or will banks use this funding to prop up government bond markets?
Debate will likely continue but if the markets prescribe the former explanation it could cause mortgage rates to fall and if the latter takes hold we’d expect further upward pressure on mortgage rates.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing home sales grew by more than expected at 4.00% in November (+3.6% in the West). The report also showed that year-over-year prices were down 3.5%.
Current Outlook: neutral