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Last Week in Review: Changes That Could Affect Rates There are rumors that our Fed is considering an idea to abandon its present 2% target rate for inflation in favor of a floating target where inflation would be allowed to rise above 2% for some time before considering hiking rates. This comes with two consequences that mortgage lenders, […]

Last Week in Review: A Great Housing Backdrop Many are wondering what lies ahead for housing as we enter 2020. There are many reasons why the U.S. housing sector should do well for the foreseeable future, but here's three main reasons for the bright outlook: Housing Starts are improving. This is especially true for single-family homes, which […]

Last Week in Review: The Definition of Goldilocks "Looking ahead, my colleagues and I see a sustained expansion of economic activity, a strong labor market, and inflation near our symmetric 2% objective as most likely." -- Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, 11/13/2019 This quote from our Fed Chair on Capitol Hill this past week was the definition […]

Last Week in Review: How Fast Rates Can Change Right now, the biggest news story to follow is the U.S. and China trade negotiations. This past week, home loans started inching higher but were "saved" momentarily midweek when reports came out suggesting a delay of a "phase one" trade deal signing. Remember that Bonds and home […]

Last Week in Review: Fed Takes Action This past week the Federal Reserve cut the Fed Funds Rate for the third time this year, by .25%. Along with the rate cut, the Fed released a statement that suggested a "pause" in further cuts, but stated they will be ready to act again should "slowing global conditions" […]

Last Week in Review: The Remedy for Higher Rates This past week home loan rates were essentially unchanged from the previous week, breaking a trend of higher rates since the beginning of October. Bonds hate good news and there is still plenty to go around: U.S./China trade dispute progress Brexit progress Corporate earnings remain positive, as […]

Last Week in Review: Optimism Hurts Rates This past week home loan rates ticked up, yet remain just above 3-year lows. Here are 3 reasons why: Solid corporate earnings and future positive guidance from many public companies were a pleasant surprise for many who were bracing for a far more disappointing outlook. As a result, Stocks […]

Last Week in Review: Fed Rate Cut Coming — But Don’t Wait U.S. Bond yields and home loan rates ticked modestly higher this week as the world watches the U.S. and China have their first serious talk since July. There is a growing sentiment that the U.S. and China will agree to some short-term measures like […]

Last Week in Review: Slowing but Growing Recession fears were back in full swing this past week, thanks to the weakest manufacturing report since June 2009, which was the last month of the Great Recession. Manufacturing makes up 12% of our economy, while consumer spending makes up nearly 70%. So even though the consumer remains strong, […]

Last Week in Review: Bullard Wants More This past week was a classic example of how good news means bad news for Bonds and home loan rates. A little trade deal with Japan, solid housing numbers, and hopeful news on the U.S./China trade dispute was enough to erase the previous week's modest improvement in rates. And […]