Mortgage Rates Staying the Same

Mortgage rates have basically stayed the same for the past several weeks, with the fees changing just a bit to take care of those rates.   

Flat financial markets (which are behind the relatively flat rates) speak to the risk of bigger movement in the coming days.  We have seen some good data come out, especially today with the Housing numbers and the Consumer Confidence reports.  This afternoons 5yr Treasury auction went better than the 2yr did yesterday, which was a disaster.

Tomorrow prior to the FOMC statement, we will have June durable goods orders out in the morning.  Also, a bit later, NAR will report June pending home sales, the estimate is that it went higher. Pending sales are contracts signed but not yet closed.

What will the FOMC say about what the Fed is thinking about the economic outlook? One thing for sure, it will not be anything negative or provide a reason to sell equities. Under it all the Fed is determined not to rock the boat and flip the market into a selling binge. As always every syllable will be divined for clues in a clueless statement. No increase in the FF rate, the question is, will it happen in September or December? Will it happen at all this year?  No matter the depth at which you delve into it, the truth is, central banks around the globe are holding up global economic growth. Until the statement expect markets to continue to sit quietly until 1:00 tomorrow afternoon.

In summary, mortgage rates seem to be in a holding pattern right now perhaps waiting for a cue from the Fed Meeting which ends tomorrow.  While no rate hikes are anticipated, everyone will  be looking for a change in language which might hint at future movements.  I would be locking up the rate if I were closing in the next 15 days, and maybe even longer.  No harm in taking advantage of what are still very very low interest rates historically.  If you are closing further out, assess your tolerance for risk to make your lock decision.