Mortgage Rates & Home Sales Decline

August 23rd, 2017

Rates Effective August 22nd, 2017 11:30 AM EST

30-Year Fixed Rate 3.875% (3.961%APR)

15-Year Fixed Rate 3.125% (3.271% APR)

Conforming loans $424,100 and under

No origination on all posted rates.  Call for other rates. **Rate Assumptions below the news

Suggestions that can change during the day: Lower Stock prices are supporting Mortgage Bonds this morning, but the gains are modest. Locking is our suggestion.

After close Commentary: Stock prices and weak New Home Sales for July. The Fannie Mae 30-yr 3.5% coupon gained 19bp to end at 103.38, right near resistance one (R1) at 103.34. Stocks fell after President Trump said last night that he will shutdown the U.S. government if necessary to build a wall along the border with Mexico, which has put a dent into Stock futures. The Dow lost 87.80 points to 21,812.09, the S&P 500 fell by 8.47 points to 2,444.04, while the NASDAQ closed lower by 19.07 points to 6,278.40. WTI oil closed at $48.41/barrel, +$0.58. The 10-yr T Note yield 2.17%. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Existing Home Sales will be released tomorrow morning. The Fed-sponsored Jackson Hole Symposium will kick off tomorrow and the markets will look to Friday morning for a speech from Fed Chair Yellen.

Late morning Commentary:  The Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that New Home Sales in July fell by 9.4% to an annualized rate of 571,000 units, a seven month low, and below the 615,000 expected. However, June was revised higher to 630,000 from 610,000. Sales dropped in the Northeast, South and West but rose in the Midwest. Inventories for new homes for sale rose to 5.8 months in July from 5.2 in June, near the healthy rate of six months. From July 2016 to July 2017, sales were down nearly 9%.

Mortgage rates remained near the 2017 lows as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA reports that the 30-year fixed conforming mortgage rate was steady at 4.12%. In addition, the 30-year jumbo mortgage rate fell to a new low for 2017 of 3.99%, while the FHA fixed mortgage rate was 4.02%. Those rates do carry at least 0.30 in points added on top of the rate. The MBA's Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage loan application volume, saw a 0.5% increase in the latest week. The MBA's refinance index rose marginally by 0.3%, while the purchase index declined 1.5%.

On Wednesday night, President Trump said that he will shut down the U.S. government if necessary to build a wall along the border of Mexico, which has put a dent into Stock prices today. President Trump also said he might scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to legislate his pro-growth agenda. The president's words are pushing Stock prices lower today, after yesterday's big rally. 

9:03 AM ET  3.5% Fannie Mae 30-yr coupon up  12 bp at a price of 103.31  up 9 bp when rates were set Yesterday at 10:00 am et Open 103.28 High 103.34 Low 103.28

Dailey Moving averages we are currently above:  200 $102.60  100  $102.91   50 102.97    and 25 103.11 Others numbers psychological numbers 103.00 , First level of Support103.19,  First level of Resistance 103.34

**Rate Assumptions

 Actual payments will vary based on your individual situation and current rates. The above rates are subject to change.

• Some products may not be available in all states.
• Jumbo Rates (loans over $424,100) not be available to first time home buyers.
• Lending services may not be available in all areas.
• Some restrictions may apply.
• Based on the purchase/refinance of a primary residence with no cash out at closing.
• We assumed (unless otherwise noted) that: closing costs are paid out of pocket; this is your primary residence and is a single family home; debt-to-income ratio is less than 30%; and credit score is over 780; and an escrow account for the payment of taxes and insurance.
• The lock period for your rate is 30 days.
• The loan to value (LTV) ratio is 70%. If LTV > 80%, PMI will be added to your monthly mortgage payment for all conventional loans.
• Rates assume a credit score of at least 780.
• Please remember that we don’t have all your information. Therefore, the rate and payment results you see from this calculator may not reflect your actual situation. National Bank of Commerce offers a wide variety of loan options. You may still qualify for a loan even if your situation doesn’t match our assumptions. To get more accurate and personalized results, please call (205) 266-5669 to talk to John Marbury.
• 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage: The monthly payment on a $200,000 30-year Fixed-Rate Loan at 3.875% and 70% loan-to-value (LTV) is $940.47 with 0 points due at closing. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 3.961%. Payment does not include taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment amount will be greater. Some state and county maximum loan amount restrictions may apply.
• 15-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage: The monthly payment on a $200,000 15-year Fixed-Rate Loan at 3.125% and 70% loan-to-value (LTV) is $1393.22 with 0 points due at closing. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 3.271%. Payment does not include taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment amount will be greater. Some state and county maximum loan amount restrictions may apply

Johnmarbury.com has attempted to verify the information contained on this post.  However any aspect of such may change without notice.  Johnmarbury.com does not provide investment advice and does not represent that any of the information or related analysis is accurate or complete at any time. Forgive my spelling and grammatical mistakes due to writing skills that are lacking and the need to communicate quickly.