Mortgage markets gained last week, picking up momentum into the weekend. Global demand for mortgage-backed bonds helped push mortgage rates to new lows, and closing costs eased somewhat, too.
According to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 3.89% nationwide. In order to get access to 3.89% mortgage rates, Freddie Mac said, mortgage applicants should expect to pay a full set of closing costs plus 0.7 discount points.
1 discount point is equal to 1 percent of your loan size.
Loans with “low closing costs” or “no closing costs” will be at higher rates than Freddie Mac’s published, average rate.
The biggest reason why mortgage rates fell last week is because — once more — concerns over European sovereign debt resurfaced on Wall Street. This has been an ongoing story for more than a year, and one that won’t likely end soon.
Several Eurozone nations saw their respective credit ratings downgraded last week, a move that sparked safe haven buying of U.S. mortgage bonds. France was stripped of its top credit rating. Slovakia, Italy and Austria were each downgraded, too.
Markets were also influenced by a conflict between Greece’s creditor banks and the nation-state’s government. The breakdown in talks increases the likelihood of the Eurozone’s first sovereign default.
Meanwhile, domestically, in-line Retail Sales figures and rising consumer confidence helped to prop up the U.S. dollar, a move that’s linked to lower mortgage rates.
This week, the markets were closed for the federal holiday Monday, and re-open Tuesday without much data on which to trade. Several inflationary reports are set for release including the Producer Price Index and the Consumer Price Index; and, in housing-related data, we’ll see the Housing Starts report and Existing Home Sales figures for December.
Expect mortgage rates to follow the Eurozone story this week. Pessimism and weak data will be good for mortgage rates in NY and nationwide. Strength will lead mortgage rates higher.
If you’re still floating a mortgage rate or have otherwise yet to lock, mortgage rates are lower than they’ve been in history. It’s an ideal time to make aan interest rate commitment.
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