Last week's economic news largely concerned the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting statement and a post-meeting conference given by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. The FOMC statement indicated that the Fed continued its wind-down of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities and that its purchases are expected to cease after the next FOMC meeting. The FOMC statement said that committee members find the economy to be improving at a moderate pace and currently strong enough to further reduce the QE3 monthly … Continue reading...
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – March 24, 2014
Last week's economic news included several housing-related reports including the Housing Market Index (HMI) for March, a report on housing starts, and building permits for February. The National Association of REALTORS® also released its Existing Home Sales report for February and the Federal Reserve issued its first FOMC statement under the helm of Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Home Builders Conservative On Housing Market Conditions The National Association of Home Builders Wells Fargo Housing … Continue reading...
What’s Ahead for Mortgage Rates This Week: December 24, 2012
Mortgage markets worsened last week amid ongoing discussions budget and tax conversations in Washington, D.C., and the release of key housing and economic data. Mortgage rates climbed nationwide. Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate at 3.37 percent nationwide for borrowers willing to pay an accompanying 0.7 discount points at closing, plus closing costs -- an increase of 0.05 percentage points from the week prior. The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage rate was … Continue reading...
Housing Starts, Building Permits Rising Into 2013
Single-family housing starts took a small step back in November. According to the monthly Housing Starts report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, single-family housing starts tallied 565,000 in November 2012 on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. This marks a 4 percent decline from October, but is more than 100,000 higher than the count from 12 months ago. Clearly, the nation's new home construction market is expanding. On a regional basis, single-family housing starts have been … Continue reading...