Julie Campbell Home Mortgage Loans Brigham City Utah

Home Mortgage Loans

  • Home
  • About
    • About Julie
    • Privacy Policy
  • Mortgage Info.
    • First Time Home Seller Tips
    • First Time Home Buyer Tips
    • Closing Costs
    • Home Appraisal
    • Home Inspection
    • Interest Rates
    • Loan Checklist
    • Loan Process
    • Loan Programs
    • Mortagage Glossary
    • Mortgage FAQ
  • Apply
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / mortgage / What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – May 5, 2014

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – May 5, 2014

May 5, 2014 by Julie Campbell

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – May 5, 2014Last week’s economic news included several reports related to housing and mortgages. The NAR started the week on a positive note with its Pending Home Sales Index released Monday. Pending home sales in March were higher with an unexpected increase of 3.40 percent over February for an index reading of 97.40.

This is encouraging news for home sales that were severely affected by a hard winter in many areas, and suggests that as warmer weather approaches, home sales will pick up. Analysts do not expect the rapid rate of price appreciation seen in 2013. The Fed’s tapering of its “quantitative easing” program has caused mortgage rates to rise, and last year’s rapid run-up of home prices has made affordability an issue in many areas.

The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for February performed slightly better than expected with a seasonally-adjusted month-to-month reading of 0.80 percent. The expected reading was 0.70 percent.

The year-over-year reading fell short of January’s reading of 13.20 percent and the expected reading of 13.00 percent at 12.90 percent. Analysts noted the continuing trend of slowing momentum in home price growth, but seem confident that home prices will continue to increase over the spring months.

Fed Continues Tapering Of QE, Mortgage Rates Mixed

Wednesday brought the FOMC’s customary statement after its two-day meeting concluded. There were no surprises as the statement verified another monthly tapering of $10 billion from the Fed’s quantitative easing (QE) program of asset purchases.

The tapering was evenly divided with $5 billion less in MBS purchased and $5 billion less in treasury securities purchased. The ongoing tapering was seen as contributing to rising mortgage rates, but the Fed asserted that its asset purchases remain sufficient to dampen rapid increases in long-term interest rates, which include mortgage rates.

The Fed repeated its usual reminder that its decisions are not on a pre-set course and that the committee members would closely monitor economic and financial developments as guidance for future decisions.

Freddie Mac reported mixed results for mortgage rates on Thursday. Average rates rose by four basis points to 4.29 percent for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with discount points of 0.70 percent.

The average rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage dropped by one basis point to 3.38 percent; discount points steady at 0.60 percent. The average rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage rose by two basis points to 3.05 percent; discount points dropped from 0.50 to 0.40 percent.

Weekly jobless claims made an unexpected jump to 344,000 as compared to the prior week’s revised figure of 329,000 jobless claims and an expected reading of 320,000 new jobless claims.

Analysts note that week-to-week figures continued to show volatility, but said that on balance, the rolling average for jobless claims appeared consistent with moderate growth in labor markets.

This Week

This week’s scheduled economic news shows no events related to housing and mortgages. Highlights include Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s appearance before the Joint Economic Committee in Washington, D.C. and the usual releases of mortgage rates and new jobless claims on Thursday. 

Filed Under: mortgage Tagged With: Housing Analysis, Housing Market, Mortgage Rates

Julie Campbell

Contact Julie

Loan Officer


Intercap Lending
Brigham City, UT
Call (801) 388-6732
Personal NMLS# 299573
Download the Homebuyer App

Connect with Me

How can I help?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Perfect Listing Presentation

Categories

Quick Links

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Licensing
  • Complaints
  • About Julie
Equal Housing Lender
Intercap Lending NMLS# 190465
• nmlsconsumeraccess.org

Our Location


112 N Main
Brigham City, UT 84302

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by MySMARTblog