Mortgage rates are unchanged but priced slightly worse than yesterday.
It looked like mortgage rates might improve at the open of the financial markets. Overnight the UK released it’s 4th quarter GDP report which showed that the economy shrunk by more than expected. Bad news for the economy is often good news for mortgage rates.
The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed that home prices across the 20 major real estate markets in the US continue to slide. On year-over-year basis home prices fell by 1.6% for the period ending November 2010. Locally, the home price index fell by 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. You can read the full report HERE. You can download a graph of the Portland S&P 500 HERE.
Rates reversed back higher following the release of the Conference Board’s consumer confidence figures. The report showed that consumers are more upbeat on the economic recovery than analysts had expected.
At this point rates continue to float along near the high end of the recent range. I still believe rates will drift lower but should they move any higher we’ll have to switch our position to locking.
Current outlook: floating