Daily Rate Lock Advisory

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Medium

Positive

Univ of Mich Consumer Sentiment (Rev)

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. We are labeling this report favorable for bonds and mortgage pricing because slower consumer spending restricts overall economic growth and bonds tend to thrive in weaker economic conditions.

Medium

Neutral

Existing Home Sales from National Assoc of Realtors

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 like this reminds us how relevant and impactful lower mortgage rates actually are on the broader economy. Because the increase was extremely close to forecasts and this report usually doesn’t have an overly strong impact on the markets, we are labeling the report neutral to slightly negative for rates.

High

Unknown

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

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

Rate Lock Advisory

Mortgage Rate Trend

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Univ of Mich Consumer Sentiment (Rev)

Existing Home Sales from National Assoc of Realtors

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Float / Lock Recommendation