Happy Friday, Would You Like Some Improved Mortgage Rates?

Because you got 'em!

Economic data continues to disappoint and cause concern for the market.  Consumers are being hit by inflation and thus not spending any more money.  A survey of the manufacturing sector also reported dismally low.  Remember that a weak consumer, and a weak manufacturing sector are two of the many signs that point to more economic slow down.  A slow economy tends to lead investors to buy bonds.  And since mortgage rates are tied to Mortgage Backed Bonds, a slow economy is generally good news for mortgage rates.

As such, Mortgage Backed Securities have made further improvements this morning from an already good week.  Although lenders don't normally give us all the benefit they receive from these bonds until the gains stabilize, we are very near the January-End strength in terms of the prices of these Mortgage Backed securities.

So that will equate to slightly better rates today, and continued improvement if the current levels simply hold their ground.

 As we are nearing another low point for rates, historically speaking, locking is always the safer play, even though rates could continue to improve.  The main concept to consider: is today's available rate low enough for me to be happy with me loan?  If rates went any higher, would the loan no longer make sense?  Can I afford not to get the loan or to pay for the difference in cost to keep the lower rate.

So if you're not in any particular hurry, I believe next week could perhaps be better than this week.  But the economy has a knack for surprising us just when we start to get confident.  If you are purchasing or are in a situation where you must refinance, take a look at rates later this morning as ask yourself if they are good enough to do the deal.  If so, today is a safe day to lock.  If you can keep a watchful eye on the market, you can probably even afford to float as long as you lock the second rates trend back up.  The latter is a bit of a risk for a bit of a reward.  Whether or not it's worth taking is up to you.