Economic Data Continues - Mortgage Bond Prices Trading at Upper End

Economic Date continues to come out.  Both the Consumer prices (which the Consumer measures changes in the prices paid by consumers for a representative basket of goods and services) – rose in December as Americans paid prices for energy and shelter costs;  and the Labor Department – which reported that the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3% last month., Each of these reports were in-line with expectations. The 0.3% rise was the biggest gain since June.

Regarding Foreclosures, Realty Trac reported that foreclosure filings plunged by 26% from 2012 to 2013, with 1.4 million recorded last year.  This was the lowest total since 2007 as the housing sector continues to rebound. If you recall, we saw foreclosure filings peaked in 2010 and have fallen 53% since that time.

We did have our second positive regional reading since the New Year in the Philadelphia region this month.  The Philadelphia Fed Index rose to 9.4, above the 6.4 recorded in December and above the 8.0 expected.   In the body of the report you were able to see that the employment component showed a mixed bag as the number of employees were up, but the average employee workweek fell to negative 5.3 from 4.8.

With all this data, and the stock market reaction , I do believe that the Mortgage Bond prices are trading near the upper end, which would equate that locking is prudent.  If you have any questions, give me a call at 314-744-7806, or visit my website by clicking on the link below:

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