Kim Abbott

Riding Real Estate Agent

  • About Me
  • Resources
    • Buyer Info
    • Seller Info
    • Home Appraisal
    • Home Inspection
  • Find a Home
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week: March 18th, 2013

March 18, 2013 by Kim Abbott Leave a Comment

Mortgage Rate Update March 18 2013Last week’s positive employment reports were good news for the economy, which typically causes mortgage rates to rise, but mortgage rates ended the week lower.

As of Thursday, Freddie Mac reports that the average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.63 percent with borrowers paying their closing costs and 0.8 percent in discount points.

The average mortgage rate for a 15 year loan was 2.79 percent with borrowers paying their own closing costs and 0.8 percent in discount points.

Strong Retail Sales Show Consumer Confidence Improving

In other economic news, retail sales for February surpassed Wall Street expectations and grew by 1.1 percent against predictions of 0.5 percent and January’s reading of 0.1 percent.

Retail sales account for 70 percent of the U.S. economy and growing retail sales are a strong indicator of economic recovery, which generally causes mortgage rates to rise as bond prices including Mortgage Backed Securities fall.

With this strength in the retail sector, it may be a good time to consider locking interest rates for purchase and refinance transactions.

Results of Treasury auctions held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were mixed.

Tuesday’s auction of 3-year notes saw average demand, Wednesday’s auction of 10-year notes was strong, and Thursday’s auction of 30-year bonds drew a weak response.

Financial Reporting Strong Across Multiple Indices

The Producer’s Price Index (PPI) for February met expectations at 0.7 percent and exceeded January’s level of 0.2 percent.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February came in at 0.7 percent and exceeded expectations of 0.5 percent and January’s reading of 0.0 percent.

The Core CPI, which excludes food and energy sectors, demonstrates the impact of high fuel prices on the CPI with its lower numbers.

The Core CPI for February is 2.0 percent higher than for February 2012.

Upcoming Federal Reserve Meeting May Bring Interest Rate Changes

The Federal Reserve is not likely to modify its bond purchase program until the inflation rate reaches 2.5 percent.

Next week, the Federal Reserve will meet on Wednesday; investors will be waiting to see how the Fed responds to recent positive economic news in terms of potential changes to its bond purchase program, which is helping to keep mortgage rates lower.

As the deadline of March 27 for funding the Federal government approaches, investors will be following legislative talks to see how or if funding will be approved by the deadline.

Filed Under: Mortgage Rates Tagged With: Mortgage Rates,Freddie Mac,Federal Reserve

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Kim Abbott

Contact Kim

CALL (602) 540-3719
Located in Phoenix, AZ

HomeSmart

Connect with Me

Let’s Keep In Touch!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Browse Articles by Category

Recent Articles

  • Is A VA Loan The Best Option For Your Needs?
  • 3 Critical Tips for Buying a Home in a Short Sale
  • A Reverse Mortgage And A Home Equity Conversion: What To Know
  • What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – March 27, 2023
Equal housing & Realtor

Looking For Something?

Our Location

3333 E Camelback Rd
Suite 150
Phoenix, AZ 85018

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by MySMARTblog