• Friday’s mortgage rates should be very close to Thursday’s early pricing due to modest bond gains late yesterday. The bond market is currently down 6/32 (4.14%).

 • The major stock indexes are rallying again this morning, pushing the Dow higher by 251 points and the Nasdaq up 186 points.

 • The first of this morning’s two economic releases was December's revised Index of Consumer Sentiment from the University of Michigan at 10:00 AM ET. They announced a reading of 52.9 that fell short of the preliminary estimate of 53.3. This decline tells us that surveyed consumers are feeling a bit less confident about their own financial and employment situations, meaning they are less likely to make a large purchase in the near future.

 • Also late this morning, the National Association of Realtors said home resales rose 0.5% last month to signal slight growth in the housing sector. This was the third consecutive month with an increase in sales, which is being attributed mostly to lower mortgage rates this fall.

 • Data such as today’s Existing Home Sales report reminds us how relevant and impactful lower mortgage rates actually are on the broader economy.

 • Next week will be significantly shortened due to the Christmas holiday scheduled.

 • The new week has a few relevant economic reports set to be posted, mostly data that was delayed by the government shutdown. Some of them are normally considered to be highly important to the markets, but are now aged.

 • There are also a couple of Treasury auctions that could affect bond trading and mortgage pricing during afternoon hours two of the days.

 • All of the week’s activities are coming Tuesday and Wednesday with nothing on the calendar Monday or Friday that we need to be concerned about.

 • Look for details on next week’s holiday schedule and all events that are related to mortgage rates in Sunday evening’s weekly preview.

 • Visit our Daily Commentary page on our site for detailed explanations on current news that is relevant to mortgage rates.

 

 

 

CLICK HERE to view full detailed report and recommendations

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.