The Conference Board, a non-profit global business organization, reported this morning that its consumer confidence index gave up its last two months of gain in June, dropping to a reading of 52.9 from 62.7. This along with the continued turmoil over seas are keeping rates down.

As the end of the 2nd quarter approaches...rates are at a 70 year low. Now is the time to lock.


http://www.mmgweekly.com/w/w.html?SID=7b852316cf9d2d41bec07321928afe96

Fannie Mae Crack Down

Walk away from a Fannie loan and you can pay? Sorry, no Fannie loan for the next seven years. If someone is smart enough and has the gumption to walk from a Fannie loan, one would think they are smart enough to find financing elsewhere. Wasn’t too long ago where people were hung for stealing another’s horse. My how times have changed.

New Home Sales Plunge 32.7% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000 the lowest since 1963 when the reporting began. New home sales is a small part of the overall housing market, accounting for just 8% of homes sold in April. The 32.7% decrease was also a record. The sharp drop followed two big increases that reflected buyers rushing to market before the tax credit expired. The decline exceeded what had been dire expectations, and is likely to raise fears about housing and keep mortgage rates a historic lows.

Time to Lock In

This morning, Existing Home Sales were reported considerably lower than expectations; however, the inventory of unsold existing homes slightly improved from the prior month's reading. Rates are at the lowest level of the year!!! Today is a great day to lock!

The big news over the weekend is that China has announced that they intend to allow for a more flexible Yuan and not peg it to the dollar. This will boost the U.S. stock markets and put some pressure on mortgage rates.

No economic reports today, so rates will take their cues from the stock market. Higher stock prices will tend to drag mortgage interest rates a little higher while falling stock prices will likely support steady to perhaps fractionally lower rates.

Looking ahead to next week -- the nation's central bankers will gather in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss monetary policy strategy for the coming six weeks. Most observers believe the members of the Federal Open Market Committee will vote to leave their short-term benchmark interest rates unchanged. There is also broad agreement among Fed watchers that Mr. Bernanke and his fellow policymakers will choose to make little, if any significant change to their views, expressed in the committee's traditional post-meeting statement, that a fragile economic recovery is currently underway. If this assessment proves accurate, look for the Fed meeting to prove to be a non-event in terms of its influence on mortgage interest rates.

Down is down over 60 points due to the weakness in Initial Claims and CPI. Also the Philly Fed's report was very weak. This will help keep rates down today!

In economic reports, the Produce Price Index indicated that inflation remains tame. Also in the news, Housing Starts and Building Permits were reported down in May. While that seems bad at first, less supply may actually help the industry in the long run.

More of the Same

In the news, the New York Empire Manufacturing Index came in nearly in line with estimates. The report had little effect on the markets and mortgage rates.

Monday Blues

The DOW is up 57 this morning. Rates are essentially flat from Friday. Here is a forecast for the week http://www.mmgweekly.com/w/w.html?SID=7b852316cf9d2d41bec07321928afe96

Congress Could Extend Home-Buyer Tax Credit Closing Deadline

Did the tax credit work too well? That’s the latest concern from the real-estate industry, which is experiencing bottlenecks at lenders and real-estate service companies that may not be able to finalize purchases in time for tens of thousands of buyers to receive a tax credit worth up to $8,000.
On Thursday, there were signs that the real-estate lobby had successfully communicated those concerns to Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid joined Sen. Christopher Doddand Sen. Johnny Isakson in sponsoring a measure that would give buyers until Sept. 30 to close on sales that went into contract by April 30. That measure would be attached to a job-related bill before the Senate. It would need House and Senate passage before being signed by President Obama.

Bounce

Yesterday we saw a rate improvement at the end of the day...due to the strong demand for 10 yr note and European Union (EU) concerns. Cooler heads have prevailed and the DOW is up over 200. Rates will be up .125% today.

Good time to lock in...Eurpean Central Bank is forcasting small levels of growth and stability ahead which will take a lot of fear out of the market.

Rates have hit bottom...???!!!!

Can rates go lower...today will be the day we find out:

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, will testify before the U.S. House Budget Committee about economic and financial conditions, and the federal budget. Anytime Mr. Bernanke speaks, his words can have a large impact on the markets. The US Treasury will auction $21 billion 10 year Treasury notes and The Fed's Beige Book is issued today...this data outlines economic conditions around the United States and is used as a point of reference during FOMC meets where our nation’s monetary policy is set.

Our only chance for lower rates hinges on a very strong demand for the 10 yr notes... and of course any new financial termoil in Europe.

Treasury will auction $36 billion 3 year Treasury notes today. This is $2 billion less than last auction of new notes which indicates our government needs to borrow less money to fund the deficit. This is a long-term positive for interest rates and the economy.

No movement

Pretty slow day today...rates are flat even though the Dow closed down 115.

Swing and a Miss

Today's Jobs report is a "swing and a miss"...and the Dow is down @150 points. Rates will be .125% lower today.