• Weekly Economic & Mortgage Rate Update 02/20/12

    Posted on February 20, 2012 by xcaliberteam Comment

    Weekly Economic & Mortgage Rate Update 02/20/12

    By: Stuart Crawford, V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc

    Mortgage rates increased last week, as there was increased optimism that a Greek bailout package will be approved today.  This caused investors to shift into riskier assets and pull money from the bond markets.

    [After] several weeks of uncertainty, it appears that European officials are close to reaching agreement on a much needed bailout package for Greece.  Despite strong public opposition, Greek leaders took a big step by passing a budget with new austerity measures.  Comments from euro zone leaders expressed broad support for providing additional aid, which Greece needs to avoid a default on debt maturing on March 20th.  Prior to last week, it appeared that the option to let Greece default and possibly leave the European Union was under serious consideration, but investors now believe that European leaders will not let this happen.  An important meeting is scheduled for today, and investors expect a deal to be announced.

    The inflation data released last week showed that core inflation rates (which exclude food and energy) have continued to rise.  Core CPI inflation was 2.3% higher than one year ago, which was the highest annual rate since September 2008.  Fed officials forecast that core inflation levels will moderate later in the year.  If it unexpectedly continues to move higher, however, the impact could be large.  Higher inflation is negative for mortgage rates.  In addition, it would be more difficult for the Fed to maintain its current loose monetary policy.  Investors will be closely watching core inflation levels in coming months to see if the Fed’s forecast proves correct.

    It will be a light week for U.S. economic data.  Existing Home Sales will be released on Wednesday, with New Home Sales and Consumer Sentiment on Friday.  Mortgage markets will be closed today in observance of President’s Day.

     

    V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc

     

    Fill out the Contact Us form to let us know how The Xcaliber Team can best serve your needs.

     

    Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market Inventory Level

    • 46176,43882,41089,38189,35787,33511,32063,31189,31272,30991,29005,27359
    • 9361,11193,10297,10108,9315,8260,8943,7537,7438,6829,6026,7489
    • 7154,9954,9454,9799,10354,8429,8743,8020,7521,7138,7711,6455

    Information is deemed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. © 2012

    This entry was posted in Buyers, Financing, Home, Phoenix Market and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Weekly Economic & Mortgage Rate Update 02/13/12

    Posted on February 13, 2012 by xcaliberteam Comment

    Weekly Economic & Mortgage Rate Update 02/13/12

    By: Stuart Crawford, V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc

     

    With little U.S. economic news last week, investors focused most of their attention on Europe, where Greece is attempting to avoid a debt default.  A lack of progress in Greece late in the week caused a minor flight to safety, and mortgage rates ended slightly lower than the previous week.

    For most of the week, it appeared that Greek officials were on track to deliver a package of austerity measures required for Greece to receive additional aid.  The negotiations took an unexpected step backward on Friday, however, as Greek political leaders agreed on an austerity package on Thursday, but European Union (EU) officials stated that Greece will not receive additional aid until the Greek Parliament passes the package.  Given the resistance among the Greek people, this is not a sure thing, and it extends the uncertainty about whether Greece will be able to avoid a debt default.  As a result, investors shifted to relatively safer assets, including US mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which helped mortgage rates and hurt stocks.  It now seems that this is reversing in today’s news.

    In a light week for U.S. economic data, the Jobless Claims report stood out.  Weekly Jobless Claims unexpectedly dropped to 358K.  Following several years of readings consistently above 400K, weekly claims have been mostly under 400K over the last couple of months.  In the past, readings in this range have been consistent with an improving labor market.  In January, the Unemployment Rate dropped to the lowest level since February 2009, and the recent Jobless Claims reports provide additional evidence that the labor market is moving in the right direction.  Finally, we have some consistent, POSITIVE, reports coming out in regards to our economy.

     

    V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc

     

    Fill out the Contact Us form to let us know how The Xcaliber Team can best serve your needs.

     

     

    This entry was posted in Buyers, Financing, Phoenix Market, Sellers and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market Report February 2012

    Posted on February 8, 2012 by xcaliberteam Comment

    Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market Report February 2012

    The numbers are out, thanks to the dedicated staff at Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, who compiles all the numbers from the Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market. This free 10 page report helps illustrate where we have been and where we are headed.

    Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market Sales

    You get month over month and year over year sales statistics, an excellent look at the momentum and velocity of the Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market. To accurately predict where prices are headed you need to compare the current sales with the recent past, then factoring in the pending home prices (homes under contract, but not yet sold).

    Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market Inventory

    Another key factor in predicting future home prices in the Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market, is the inventory; Economics 101, supply and demand. What price ranges have the highest numbers, where are future listings going to come from, is there a “shadow inventory” preparing to over load the market? The data in this Free report is vital for helping t answer these questions and more.

    Click HERE or the image below for instant access to this key report

    Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market Report February 2012

    Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market Report February 2012

    This entry was posted in Buyers, Home, Phoenix Market, Sellers and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Weekly Economic & Mortgage Rate Update 02/07/12

    Posted on February 7, 2012 by xcaliberteam Comment

    Weekly Economic & Mortgage Rate Update 02/07/12

    By: Stuart Crawford, V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc

    The most significant influence on mortgage rates last week was Friday’s Employment report, which was much stronger than expected.  Events in Europe have had less impact on U.S. markets in recent weeks.  While mortgage rates moved lower early in the week, they ended the week a little higher after the employment report was released.

    Friday’s Employment data exceeded expectations in nearly every area.  Against a consensus forecast of 135K, the economy added 243K jobs in January, which was the highest level since April 2011.  Revisions to prior months added an additional 60K jobs.  The Unemployment Rate dropped to 8.3% from 8.5% in December, to the lowest level since February 2009.  Strong labor market data is great news for the economy, but it increases future inflationary pressures, which is unfavorable for mortgage rates.

    While mortgage rates ended the week higher than last week, the Freddie Mac weekly mortgage rate survey released on Thursday showed a large decline in rates.  This is simply due to the timing of the survey.  Freddie Mac collects data from origination companies on Monday and Tuesday and releases the results on Thursday.  In this case, the survey captured the drop in rates following the prior week’s Fed meeting, but not the rise in rates due to last week’s strong jobs report.

    The economic calendar will be very light this week.  The Trade Balance and Consumer Sentiment will be released on Friday.

    Mortgage Rates

     

    Fill out the Contact Us form to let us know how The Xcaliber Team can best serve your needs.

     

    Phoenix Metro Area Home Inventory Level

    • 46176,43882,41089,38189,35787,33511,32063,31189,31272,30991,29005,27359
    • 9361,11193,10297,10108,9315,8260,8943,7537,7438,6829,6026,7489
    • 7154,9954,9454,9799,10354,8429,8743,8020,7521,7138,7711,6455

    Information is deemed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. © 2012

    This entry was posted in Buyers, Financing, Home, Phoenix Market, Sellers and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.


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