Weekly Economic & Mortgage Rate Update 01/31/12
By: Stuart Crawford, V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc
Wednesday’s Fed announcement was very favorable for mortgage rates. As a result, mortgage rates ended the week lower.
The forecasts from Fed officials for the fed funds rate contained some major surprises for investors. Fed officials now expect that economic conditions will allow the fed funds rate to remain at exceptionally low levels until at least “late 2014″. Prior statements extended the expected time frame only to mid-2013. In addition, comments from Fed Chief Bernanke suggested that Fed officials would like to see stronger economic growth, and they are open to the possibility of additional Fed easing. The expectation for a low fed funds rate and the possibility of additional Fed purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) increased demand for MBS, which resulted in higher MBS prices and lower mortgage rates.
Friday’s release of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed an increase at a 2.8% annual rate during the fourth quarter of 2011, which was a little below the consensus forecast, but up from 1.8% during the third quarter. Early estimates for the first quarter of this year are for a slower growth rate. The long-run average growth rate for the economy is generally considered to be around 3.0%, and the economy usually grows at a faster than average rate following a recession.
The biggest economic report this week will be the important Employment data on Friday. As usual, this data on the number of jobs, the Unemployment Rate, and wage inflation will be the most highly anticipated economic data of the month.
Phoenix Metro Area Home Inventory Level
- 38203,35809,33545,32117,31292,31429,31261,30117,28868,28289,26500,24485
- 10098,9309,8275,8951,7595,7578,7093,6496,8434,8325,8662,7527
- 9796,10352,8428,8738,8019,7513,7117,7664,6422,7291,8880,8471
Information is deemed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. © 2012
