11
Dec
By First Rate Financial Group
Financial Reports

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – December 11, 2023

What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This WeekThis will be another light week before the next large releases of the CPI and PPI data. The overall unemployment numbers have been trending lower which will likely leave the Federal Reserve board in a state of suspension. They have made many assertive statements they do not intend to cut rates soon, but the signs of a soft landing for the economy are numerous, leading to much speculation about impending rate cuts. As a general indicator, lending partners have seen a near 6 week-to-week decline in lending rates. The largest data releases this week are the U.S. Unemployment Reports and Non-Farm Payroll data releases.

Non-farm Payrolls & Unemployment Rate

Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 199,000 in November, and the unemployment rate
edged down to 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in
health care and government. Employment also increased in manufacturing, reflecting the return of
workers from a strike. Employment in retail trade declined.

ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI

The numbers: An ISM barometer of business conditions at service companies such as restaurants and hotels rebounded to 52.7% in November from a five-month low of 51.8% in the prior month.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had expected the index to rise to 52.4%. Numbers over 50% indicate expansion in the economy.

Primary Mortgage Market Survey Index

Last 6 weeks have seen a week-to-week decline in rates.

  • 15-Yr FRM rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.27% with the current rate at 6.29%
  • 30-Yr FRM rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.19% with the current rate at 7.03%

MND Rate Index

  • 30-Yr FHA rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.07% for this week. Current rates at 6.43%
  • 30-Yr VA rates rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.05% for this week. Current rates at 6.45%

Jobless Claims

Initial claims have increased to 220,000 compared to the expected claims of 223,000. The prior week was 219,000.

What’s Ahead

Next week is an important release schedule with the final CPI and PPI reports, released on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. With this final release along with the final GDP release cycle, it should give the Federal Reserve the final numbers to move ahead with a plan for next year, which seems likely to include rate cuts.

05
Dec
By First Rate Financial Group
Mortgage

The Required Steps For A Smooth Mortgage Refinance Process

There are lots of people who have heard that one of the top ways to ensure the best mortgage rate possible is to refinance. At the same time, it is critical to make sure that this process is planned out accordingly.

Therefore, there are a few steps that everyone has to follow to make sure they are able to handle the mortgage refinancing process in a smooth manner that leads to the best rate possible.

Ask If A Refinance Is The Right Step

There are a lot of people who assume that a mortgage refinance is a financial win; however, it is important to keep the added costs in mind. For example, the refinancing process is going to lead to another closing. When this happens, there are going to be closing costs that must be considered.

Therefore, the refinancing process could lead to a higher mortgage payment if the money saved on interest payments is not enough to offset these costs.

Check The Credit Score First

Many people get lured into the refinance process by looking at low mortgage interest rates and assuming they are going to qualify for them; however, this is not always the case. Only the people with the top credit scores are able to qualify for these low rates. Therefore, everyone needs to take a look at their credit score and make sure that their credit report has been cleaned up. This is the only way that people are going to be able to qualify for these low rates.

Talk To A Trained Professional

Finally, many people are going to be going through the refinance process for the first time. It is important to work with a trained professional who can walk everyone through this process, ensuring that they know what they are doing as the process unfolds. This can go a long way toward ensuring that everyone has a successful refinancing experience.

Go Through The Right Steps

Following these steps can maximize everyone’s chances of making sure they end up with a refinance that works for them. By planning out the process ahead of time, everyone can go through the steps they need to make sure that the refinancing process proceeds as smoothly as possible.

04
Dec
By First Rate Financial Group
Financial Reports

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – December 4, 2023

What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week Dec 4, 2023The first week of December’s largest reports are the GDP estimates, which will be the second estimations of the year prior to the final release. The final GDP reports will be after the new year and are the strongest indicator for the economic state of the country. With the Federal Reserve aiming for a soft landing for the economy, it is important for the GDP and inflation statistics to be in parity with each other. The last but also very important releases for the end of the year are the Personal Income and Spending data.


GDP Estimates (First Release)

The numbers: The U.S. economy grew at an assuring 5.2% annual pace in the third quarter, faster than previously reported, but the surprisingly strong gain appears to have been a one–off occurrence.

Gross domestic product, the official scorecard for the economy, was revised upwards Wednesday from an initially reported 4.9% rate of growth. It was the biggest increase in a decade, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Consumer Spending

Consumer spending rose a mild 0.2% in October in potentially another sign of a long-predicted slowdown in the U.S. economy. While spending has slowed, many inflation rates, lending rates, and other factors have been showing signs of an improving economy.

Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecasted a 0.2% increase.

Consumer spending is the main engine of the U.S. economy and outlays grew a robust 3.6% in the third quarter.

Primary Mortgage Market Survey Index

The last 4 weeks have seen a week-to-week decline in rates.

  • 15-Yr FRM rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.11% with the current rate at 6.56%.
  • 30-Yr FRM rates seeing a week-to-week decrease by -0.07% with the current rate at 7.22%

MND Rate Index

  • 30-Yr FHA rates decreased week-to-week, seeing a -0.15% decrease for this week. Current rates at 6.50%
  • 30-Yr VA rates decreased week-to-week, seeing a -0.15% decrease for this week. Current rates at 6.50%

Jobless Claims

U.S. jobless claims drop to five-week low of 209,000.

Initial Claims have increased to 218,000 compared to the expected claims of 215,000. The prior week was 210,000.

What’s Ahead

Next week will be an important release schedule with the final CPI and PPI reports, which saddled alongside the final GDP numbers, will be the largest indicators for the robustness of the current economy and for 2023 as a whole.