26 Mar 2013
By Mark Feder

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – March 25th, 2013

Mortgage Rates
Last week's economic news was dominated by events in Cyprus and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday. Mortgage rates fell last Monday as investors became concerned over news that a Cyprus bank bailout was in the works. Federal Reserve Holding Course With Mortgage Backed Security Purchases The FOMC met on Wednesday and in a press release after the meeting, noted that no immediate changes to the present economic easing program would be made. The Fed officers will continue to monitor the nation's economy, and are eventually expected to implement a gradual reduction of their monthly bond and…
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18 Mar 2013
By Mark Feder
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week: March 18th, 2013

Mortgage Rates
Last week's positive employment reports were good news for the economy, which typically causes mortgage rates to rise, but mortgage rates ended the week lower. As of Thursday, Freddie Mac reports that the average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.63 percent with borrowers paying their closing costs and 0.8 percent in discount points. The average mortgage rate for a 15 year loan was 2.79 percent with borrowers paying their own closing costs and 0.8 percent in discount points. Strong Retail Sales Show Consumer Confidence Improving In other economic news, retail sales for February surpassed Wall Street…
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11 Mar 2013
By Mark Feder
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week: March 11th, 2013

Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates and the major stock market indices rose last week in response to a strong jobs report and lower national unemployment rate. The Department of Labor's Non-farm Payrolls report for February surpassed expectations with 236,000 new jobs reported against expectations of 170,000 new jobs expected by Wall Street. This stronger than expected showing in jobs numbers points to a stronger economy and may lead to less pressure to hold mortgage interest rates lower. The Dow Jones Index also reached record levels last week. This strong stock market performance is to be expected with better than expected employment reports. February's…
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04 Mar 2013
By Mark Feder
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week: March 4th, 2013

Mortgage Rates
U.S. Budget Stalemate, Italian Elections Stir Concerns Mortgage rates were lower last week as investors sought safety in bonds in the wake of US legislators' failure to agree on budget cutbacks, and after Italy’s elections failed to reveal a leader committed to continuing economic reform. When bond prices including Mortgage Backed Securities rise, mortgage rates typically fall. While the March 1st deadline for passing budget cutbacks for the U.S. government passed without a resolution, emergency legislation passed last year will keep the government running until March 27. If a budget is not passed by then, the federal government could face…
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