Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/30/2009

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Wednesday’s bond market has opened flat despite early stock weakness. The stocks markets are posting noticeable losses with the Dow down 83 points and the Nasdaq down 15 points. The bond market is nearly unchanged from yesterday’s closing level, but we should still see an improvement in this morning’s mortgage rates of approximately .250 of a discount point due to strength late yesterday.

Today’s only relevant economic data was the final revision to the 2nd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It showed a revised reading of a 0.7% decline that was stronger than expected. The last revision revealed a 1.0% drop in GDP, meaning the economy was stronger last quarter than many had thought. Theoretically, this is negative news for bonds because stronger economic activity makes long-term securities such as mortgage-related bonds less attractive to investors. However, this data is so aged now that it has not had much of an impact on trading this morning or …

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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09.29.09

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Tuesday’s bond market initially opened well in negative territory but has since recovered a good portion of those losses following a much weaker than expected consumer confidence reading. The stocks markets are posting losses with the Dow down 27 points and the Nasdaq down 9 points. The bond market is currently down 2/32, but this is well off earlier lows. However, we will still likely see an improvement to this morning’s mortgage rates of approximately .125 of a discount point due to strength yesterday.

The Conference Board, who is a New York based business research group, reported late this morning that their Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for September stood at 53.1. That was a decline from August’s reading and well below forecasts of a 57.0 reading, indicating that consumers were much less optimistic about their own financial situations than many had thought. This can be considered good news for bonds and mortgage rates because it means that consumers are less likely to make a large purchase in the near …

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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/28

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Monday’s bond market has opened up slightly despite strong stock gains. The stock markets are rallying with the Dow up 126 points while the Nasdaq has gained 41 points. The bond market is currently up 4/32, which should improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release today. Tomorrow starts this week’s fairly busy calendar with the first release September’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) at 10:00 AM ET. This Conference Board index gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. It is expected to show an increase from last month’s reading, indicating that consumers are …

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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary week of 9/27/2009

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This week brings us the release of six relevant economic reports for the bond market to digest. There is nothing of importance scheduled for release tomorrow, so look for the stock markets to influence bond trading and possibly mortgage rates. I would not be surprised to see a relatively calm day as traders prepare for this week’s data, some of which is considered to be extremely important.

The first release of the week is September’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) late Tuesday morning. This Conference Board index will be posted at 10:00 AM and gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. It is expected to show an increase from last month’s reading, indicating that consumers are more optimistic about their own financial situations than last month and more likely to make large purchases in the near future. This is bad news for the bond market and mortgage rates because consumer spending fuels economic growth. Analysts are calling for a reading of approximately 57.0, up from August’s 54.1. If we see a…

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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09.25.2009

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Friday’s bond market has opened flat following the release of mixed economic new. The stock markets are showing minor losses with the Dow down 14 points and the Nasdaq down 10 points. The bond market is currently up 2/32, which will likely improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .125 due to strength late yesterday after news that the 7-year Note sale went pretty well.

There were three reports posted this morning. Results of two of them can be considered negative for bonds and mortgage rates while one is good news. Since the most important one gave us much weaker than expected results, we have not seen much selling in …

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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/24/2009

Here's your Daily Commentary report compliments of Jeff Drew and Star Mortgage!

Thursday’s bond market has opened in positive territory following early stock weakness and news of an unexpected decline in home sales. The stock markets are showing losses with the Dow down 38 points and the Nasdaq down 25 points. The bond market is currently up 9/32, which will likely improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .125 - .250 of a discount point compared to yesterday’s morning rates.

The Labor Department announced this morning that 530,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week. This was much lower than the 550,000 that was expected, meaning the employment sector was stronger than thought last week. That is bad news for bonds and mortgage rates, but since this data tracks only…

To read the rest of the story click on “mortgage”: mortgage



©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09.23.2009

Here's your Daily Commentary report compliments of Jeff Drew and Star Mortgage!

Wednesday’s bond market opened slightly in negative territory as traders prepare for today’s Treasury auction and the FOMC post-meeting statement. The stock markets are showing small losses with the Dow down 19 points and the Nasdaq down 2 points. The bond market is down 2/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by .125 - .250 of a discount point.

I am expecting to see a relative calm morning in trading and mortgage rates but would not be surprised at all to see a revision to mortgage pricing later today. This morning’s weakness in bonds is common ahead of important Treasury auctions. If the sales go well …


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09-22-09

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Tuesday’s bond market has opened up slightly despite no relevant economic news on tap today. The stock markets showing minor gains with the Dow up 27 points and the Nasdaq up 6 points. The bond market is currently up 4/32, but we will again likely see little change in this morning’s mortgage rates as traders and lenders wait for tomorrow’s events to take place before making any sizable changes.

There are no significant events or relevant economic reports scheduled for today. Investors seem to be preparing for tomorrow’s events and will likely keep bond prices near current levels until then. This means I am not expecting to see any noticeable changes to mortgage rates this afternoon.

The first of this week’s two important Treasury sales will take place tomorrow and the Fed’s two-day FOMC meeting will adjourn tomorrow afternoon. The Treasury will sell 5-year Notes tomorrow and 7-year Notes Thursday. If investor demand in these sales is strong, particularly from international buyers, the broader bond market should move higher pushing mortgage rates lower. But a lackluster interest from investors could lead to bond selling and higher mortgage pricing. The results…


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Mass Mortgage Rate commentary 09-21-09

Here's your Daily Commentary report compliments of Jeff Drew and Star Mortgage!


Monday’s bond market has opened in positive territory after this morning’s sole economic report gave us a slightly lower than expected reading. The stock markets are mixed with the Dow down 30 points and the Nasdaq up 6 points. The bond market is currently up 12/32, but we will likely see little change in this morning’s mortgage rates.

The Conference Board said late this morning that its Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) for August rose 0.6%, meaning that it is predicting moderate to rapid growth in economic activity over the next few months, but at a slightly slower pace than analysts had thought. This is basically good news for bonds, but an upward revision to July’s reading offset this news. Besides, this data is considered to be only moderately important and a wide variance would have been needed to really influence trading and mortgage rates.

The rest of the week brings us the release of four more relevant economic reports in addition to another FOMC meeting and two important Treasury auctions. None of the factual reports are…


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary week of 9-20-09

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This week brings us the release of five relevant economic reports in addition to another FOMC meeting and two important Treasury auctions. None of the factual reports are considered to be highly important. In fact, most of the economic news is considered to be only moderately important. This should help limit the possibility of significant changes to mortgage rates most days this week.

Unlike many Mondays, there is relevant data being posted tomorrow. The Conference Board will release its Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) for August late tomorrow morning. This index attempts to measure economic activity over the next three to six months. It is expected to show a 0.7% rise, meaning that it is predicting a sizable increase in economic activity over the next several months. A larger than expected reading would be considered bad news for bonds and could lead to a minor increase in mortgage rates tomorrow.

There is nothing of importance scheduled for release Tuesday, but the first of this week’s two important Treasury sales will take place Wednesday and the Fed’s two-day FOMC meeting will adjourn Wednesday afternoon. The Treasury will sell 5-year Notes Wednesday and 7-year Notes Thursday. If investor demand in these sales is strong, particularly from international buyers, the broader bond market should move higher pushing mortgage rates lower. But a lackluster interest from investors could …


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/18/2009

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Friday’s bond market has opened in negative territory with little to drive trading. The stock markets are showing minor gains with the Dow up 36 points and the Nasdaq up 3 points. The bond market is currently down 7/32, but we will likely see little change in this morning’s mortgage rates due to strength late yesterday.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release today. Look for the stock markets to be the biggest influence on any swings in bond trading or mortgage rates this afternoon. As long as the stock markets remain fairly calm, mortgage rates will likely follow suit. However, this may be difficult because today is known as Quadruple Witching day in the stock markets. This is where stock index futures and options, stock options and individual stock futures all expire. As those options are executed throughout the day, it is common to see wide fluctuations in stocks. If the major stock indexes show sizable losses, bonds may benefit. If the indexes move higher, extending their recent rally, we …


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09-16-2009

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Wednesday’s bond market opened in positive territory following the release of this morning’s key inflation data that showed no significant surprises, but has since given back those gains. The stock markets are in positive ground with the Dow up 40 points and the Nasdaq up 11 points. The bond market is currently down 2/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.

There were two reports posted this morning. The first was August’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) that revealed a 0.4% increase in the overall reading and a 0.1% rise in the core data. The increase in the overall reading was slightly higher than forecasts, but the more important core data reading that excludes volatile food and energy prices matched expectations. This means that prices at the consumer level of the economy rose modestly last month. That is good news for bond prices and mortgage rates because rapid increases in inflation makes long-term securities such as mortgage-related bonds less attractive to investors. The end result is almost always higher…


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09.15.2009

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Tuesday’s bond market initially opened well in negative territory after this morning’s economic data revealed stronger than expected results but has since recovered a good portion of those losses. The stock markets are showing minor gains with the Dow up 4 points and the Nasdaq up 6 points. The bond market is currently down 3/32, but well above earlier levels. This will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.

The Commerce Department announced this morning that sales at retail level establishments rose 2.7% last month, greatly exceeding analysts’ forecasts of a 1.9% increase. Even when volatile auto transactions are excluded, sales were well above forecasts. This means that consumers spent much more last month than many had thought. That is bad news for bonds and mortgage rates because…


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/14/09

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Monday’s bond market has opened in negative territory despite a flat morning in stocks and no economic data on today’s calendar. The stock markets are calm with the Dow down 8 points and the Nasdaq nearly unchanged from Friday’s close. The bond market is currently down 8/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.

This week brings us the release of five relevant economic reports that may influence mortgage rates, but none of them are scheduled for release today. A couple of the reports are considered to be highly important to the financial and mortgage markets, meaning that we may see significant changes to rates this week. There is a very good chance of seeing noticeable changes in rates at least one day, if not several …..


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary week of 9-13-09

Here's your Daily Commentary report compliments of Jeff Drew and Star Mortgage!


This week brings us the release of five relevant economic reports that may influence mortgage rates. A couple of these reports are considered to be highly important to the financial and mortgage markets, meaning that we may see significant changes to rates this week. There is a very good chance of seeing noticeable changes in rates at least one day, if not several days this week. There is no relevant news scheduled to be posted tomorrow, so look for the stock markets to be the biggest force behind bond trading and changes to mortgage rates until we get to the data releases.

There are two highly important reports scheduled to be posted early Tuesday morning. The first is the release of August’s Retail Sales report. It will give us a measurement of consumer spending, which is very important to the markets because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Current forecasts are calling for a 1.9% increase in sales. The sizable jump is expected to come from auto sales that were fueled by the Cash For Clunkers program. Analysts are calling for a 0.4% rise in sales if auto sales are excluded. A larger than expected increase would be considered bad news for bonds and likely …..


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09.11.2009

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Friday’s bond market has opened in positive territory despite stronger than expected economic news. The stock markets are showing minor losses with the Dow down 10 points and the Nasdaq down 1 point. The bond market is currently up 17/32, which should improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

The University of Michigan posted their Index of Consumer Sentiment late this morning, announcing a reading of 70.2. This was a sizable increase from August’s final reading and higher than what analysts had expected. This means that consumers are more optimistic about their own financial situations than many had thought. That can be considered bad news for bonds and mortgage rates because it hints that consumers are more apt to make large purchases in the near future. However, it appears the data is of…..


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/10/2009

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Thursday’s bond market has opened in positive territory despite early stock gains and mixed economic news. The stock markets are in positive territory still with the Dow up 13 points and the Nasdaq up 7 points. The bond market is currently up 14/32, which will likely improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

July’s Goods and Services Trade Balance was this morning’s only monthly economic news released. It showed the trade deficit stood at $32.0 billion in July, which was much higher than expected. However, this news is not usually very influential towards mortgage rates, so its impact has been minimal.

The Labor Department gave us last week’s unemployment figures, announcing that 550,000 new claims for benefits were filed last week. This was lower than expected and can be considered negative towards bonds and mortgage rates. But this data also is not considered to be highly important to mortgage rates because it ...


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Mass Mortgage Rate Commentary 9-09-2009

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Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory following early stock gains. The stock markets are extending yesterday’s gains with the Dow up 60 points and the Nasdaq up 24 points. The bond market is currently down 8/32, but we will likely see little change in this morning’s mortgage rates.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release today. The first release of the week comes tomorrow afternoon. The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 PM ET tomorrow. This report details current economic conditions in the U.S. by region. It is believed to be a key source of data when the Fed meets for their FOMC meetings and is usually released approximately two weeks prior to each meeting. If it reveals any significant surprises, we may see movement in the markets and mortgage pricing as analysts adjust their theories on the Fed’s next move. Most likely though, it will be a non-event and will not lead to a noticeable change in mortgage rates.

Also tomorrow is the 10-year Treasury Note auction, which will be followed by the 30-year Bond auction Thursday. It is fairly common to see some weakness in bonds before these sales as investors prepare for them. But, if the sales are met with a decent demand from investors, those losses are normally recovered after the results are announced. The results will be posted at 1:00 pm ET each day. If demand was strong, particularly from international investors, we should see mortgage rates improve during...


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09-08-2009

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Tuesday’s bond market has opened flat after the holiday weekend with no relevant economic data scheduled for release today and only minor gains in the stock markets. The major stock indexes have opened the week relatively calm with the Dow up 32 points and the Nasdaq up 7 points. The bond market is nearly unchanged from Friday’s close, but we will still likely see an increase of approximately .125 of a discount point over Friday’s morning rates.

This week brings us the release of only three pieces of economic data, but none of them are considered to be highly important. In addition to the economic releases, we also have two Treasury auctions that may play a role in this week’s mortgage pricing.

The first release of the week comes Wednesday afternoon. The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 PM ET Wednesday. This report details current economic conditions in the U.S. by region. It is believed to be a key source of data when the Fed meets for their FOMC meetings and is usually released approximately two weeks prior to each meeting. If it reveals any significant surprises, we may see movement in the markets and mortgage pricing as analysts adjust their theories on the Fed’s next move. Most likely…..


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary week of Sept 6 2009

Here's your Daily Commentary report compliments of Jeff Drew and Star Mortgage!


This week brings us the release of only three pieces of economic data, but none of them are considered to be highly important. In addition to the economic releases, we also have two Treasury auctions that may play a role in this week’s mortgage pricing. The markets are closed tomorrow in observance of the Labor Day holiday, meaning mortgage lenders will follow suit.

The first release of the week comes Wednesday afternoon. The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 PM ET Wednesday. This report details current economic conditions in the U.S. by region. It is believed to be a key source of data when the Fed meets for their FOMC meetings and is usually released approximately two weeks prior to each meeting. If it reveals any significant surprises, we may see movement in the markets and mortgage pricing as analysts adjust their ...


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/04/2009

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Friday's bond market has opened in negative territory after today's major employment news did not reveal significantly weaker than expected readings. The stock markets have reacted mildly to the news though with the Dow up just 30 points and the Nasdaq up 8 points. The bond market is currently down 12/32, which will likely push this morning's mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point over yesterday’s morning rates.

The Labor Department reported this morning that the unemployment rate moved from 9.4% in July to 9.7% last month. This was higher than the 9.5% rate that was expected, which can be considered good news for bonds and mortgage rates. However, only 216,000 jobs were lost during the month when analysts were expecting to see a slightly larger decline. A revision to July's job loss number showed that 276,000 jobs were lost compared to the 247,000 announced last month. But this worked against bonds today because the 216,000 now shows a larger improvement from July to August than what was predicted.

Also hurting bonds this morning is the average hourly earnings reading in the report that revealed a 0.3% rise in earnings. This was much higher than the 0.1% that was expected, meaning earnings rose more than many had thought. That is bad news for bonds because rising wages raises wage inflation fears than can lead to …..


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/03/2009

Here's your Daily Commentary report compliments of Jeff Drew and Star Mortgage!


Thursday’s bond market has opened in negative territory after the stock markets opened with minor gains and there was no important economic data on the calendar to influence trading. The Dow is currently up 25 points while the Nasdaq has gained 5 points. The bond market is currently down 4/32, which will likely push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.

The only semi-relevant economic data posted today was last week’s unemployment figures from the Labor Department and the ISM services index. Many traders are waiting for tomorrow’s major news before making adjustments to their portfolios. The Labor Department reported this morning that 570,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week and the ISM index revealed a reading of 48.4. Both of these were very close to expectations but neither are considered to be of much importance to the markets. Therefore, the bond market has been mostly influenced by stock trading and preparation for tomorrow’s news.

Yesterday’s afternoon release of the FOMC minutes didn’t have much of an impact on trading or mortgage rates. They revealed that the Fed is still optimistic about an economic recovery, but at a slow pace. They are still concerned about the vulnerability of the recovery and particularly the labor market and they also did not reference a significant concern about inflation …..


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09/02/2009

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Wednesday’s bond market has opened in positive territory following early volatility in stocks and favorable economic data. The stock markets have fluctuated between positive and negative ground this morning, but the Dow and Nasdaq are both currently up a couple of points. The bond market is up 4/32, which with yesterday’s late strength should improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point compared to yesterday’s morning rates.

The 2nd Quarter Productivity revision was posted early this morning, showing an annual rate of 6.6%. This was a little higher than expected, which is good news for bonds and mortgage rates because strong levels of worker output allows the economy to grow without inflation concerns.

The second relevant report was July’s Factory Orders data. It showed a smaller than expected increase in new orders. The 1.3% increase instead of the forecasted 1.5% indicates that manufacturing activity was not as strong as expected. This is also good news for bonds and mortgage rates, but …..


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com

Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Commentary 09-01-09

Here's your Daily Commentary report compliments of Jeff Drew and Star Mortgage!


Tuesday’s bond market is in negative territory after this morning’s primary economic release showed a much stronger than expected reading. The stock markets are showing losses with the Dow down 88 points and the Nasdaq down 12 points. The bond market is currently down 5/32, but I don’t think we will see much of a change in this morning’s mortgage rates due to strength late yesterday.

Today’s big news came from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), who posted their manufacturing index for August late this morning. They reported a reading of 52.9 that was stronger than analysts had expected, indicating manufacturer sentiment is growing. This was the first time this index was above 50 since January 2008. That is considered bad news for bonds and mortgage rates because it points towards a strengthening economy. However, a note in the report says that manufacturers are not planning on hiring new workers anytime soon. This helps support the theory that the job market will remain weak for some time, likely preventing a rapid economic recovery. The result was a minimal impact on this morning’s bond trading and mortgage rates.

Tomorrow brings us three events for the markets to digest. The first is the revision to the 2nd Quarter Productivity numbers, which measures employee productivity in the workplace. Strong levels of productivity allow the economy to expand without inflation concerns. It is expected to show a downward change from the previous estimate of a 6.4% annual pace. Forecasts are currently calling for …..


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©Mortgage Commentary 2009

* Please note that this information reflects just one opinion on the current market. If you are considering a purchase or refinance and have a mortgage rate and monthly payment you are comfortable with you may want to consider locking that mortgage rate. It is very difficult to predict the market in these very volatile times. Most lenders have a mortgage rate renegotiation policy. Contact Jeff Drew for details. Jeff@StarMortgage.com