Mortgages Rates Continue to Fall – Market Update - Zing! Blog by Quicken Loans (blog)

It’s starting to heat up in the city of Detroit as the weather hit a high point yesterday, reaching 94 degrees. However, while the weather might be on the rise, mortgage rates continue to fall. Let’s discuss.

Headline News

MBA Mortgage Applications: The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgages fell 3 basis points to 4.14%, the lowest rate since November 2016. On the flip side, mortgage applications rose 7.1%, with purchase applications rising 10.0% and refinance applications rising 3.0%.

Jobless Claims: Initial jobless claims came back down 10,000 last week to 245,000. The four-week average is up slightly at 242,000. Continuing claims were slightly lower at 1.917 million in lagging data with the four-week average at 1.915 million, a new low since the 1970s.

Mortgage News

Mortgage rates continue to fall to the lowest levels in nearly seven months. All things considered, now is a great time to lock a low rate.

This week, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) averaged 3.89% with an average 0.5 point for the week ending June 8, 2017, down from last week when they averaged 3.94%. A year ago at this time, 30-year FRMs averaged 3.60%.

Next, 15-year FRMs this week averaged 3.16% with an average 0.5 point, down from the last week when they were at 3.19%. A year ago at this time, 15-year FRMs averaged 2.87%.

Lastly, 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 3.11% this week with an average 0.5 point, the same as last week. A year ago at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.82%.

Stock Market

The S&P and NASDAQ both experienced the impact of tanking tech stocks, pulled down by Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet, which all fell at least 3%. On the other hand, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted closing records.

The Down Jones Industrial Average rose 0.42% for the week, after finishing at 21,271.97, up 89.44 points for the week. The S&P 500 slipped 2.02 points to end at 2,431.77, up 0.63%. Lastly, the Nasdaq pulled back 113.80 points, or 1.8%, ending the week with 6,207.92 points.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, June 13

Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index (HPPI) (10:00 a.m. ET) – Quicken Loans, the nation’s second-largest retail mortgage lender, releases data every month comparing what people think their homes are worth through appraisals. Similar opinions of value often make for smoother purchase and refinance transactions.

Producer Price Index (PPI) (8:30 a.m. ET) – The Producer Price Index measures the average change over time in prices received by domestic producers for the sale of goods and services.

Wednesday, June 14

MBA Mortgage Applications (7:00 a.m. ET) – The mortgage applications index measures applications to mortgage lenders. This is a leading indicator for single-family home sales and housing construction.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) (8:30 a.m. ET) – The consumer price index measures changes based on the price of a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by consumers.

Retail Sales (8:30 a.m. ET) – Retail sales measure total receipts from stores selling merchandise and related services to final consumers. Sales are measured by retail and food service stores. Data is collected from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thursday, June 15

Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET) – New unemployment claims are compiled weekly to show the number of individuals filing for unemployment insurance for the first time. An increasing trend suggests a deteriorating labor market. The four-week moving average of new claims smooths out weekly volatility.

Industrial Production (9:15 a.m. ET) – The Federal Reserve’s monthly index of industrial production – and the related capacity indexes and capacity utilization rates – covers manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities.

Housing Market Index (10:00 a.m. ET) – The National Association of Home Builders produces a housing market index based on a survey where respondents from the organization are asked to rate the general economy and housing market conditions. The index is a weighted average of separate diffusion indexes, including present sales of new homes, sales of new homes expected in the next six months and traffic of prospective buyers in new homes.

Friday, June 16

Housing Starts (8:30 a.m. ET) – A housing start is registered when the construction of a new residential building begins. The start of construction is defined as the beginning of excavation of the foundation for the building.

Consumer Sentiment (10:00 a.m. ET) – The University of Michigan’s Consumer Survey Center questions 500 households each month on their financial conditions and attitudes about the economy. Consumer sentiment is directly related to the strength of consumer spending.

While mortgage rates continue to fall, the weather is starting to heat up, setting the summer season off with sweltering bang. That being said, now’s the time to make sure your air conditioning unit is operational and able to beat the summer heat. As always, be sure to subscribe to the Zing Blog below and check out our other home, money and lifestyle content.

Mortgages Rates Continue to Fall – Market Update - Zing! Blog by Quicken Loans (blog)