The focus this week will be directed at President Obama’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, the first FOMC meeting of 2011 on Wednesday, and the first release of fourth quarter GDP results on Friday.
Last Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported that Housing Starts dropped 11.7% in October. This drop put Housing Starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 519,000, their lowest level in 18 months. But most of the fall off came from a 43.5% decline in multifamily construction, a volatile part of the market. Single-family building, accounting for more than 80% of all starts, was off just 1.1%, to 436,000 units. And September single-family starts were revised UP to a 2.1% gain. Meanwhile, Building Permits, which reflect builders' views of the future, were UP 0.5% to 550,000, another hopeful sign.
The economic data released during the week continued to show low inflation and modest economic growth. As a result of no real surprises, Austin mortgage rates ended the week with little change.
After falling for several weeks, stronger than expected economic data caused Austin mortgage rates to turn a little higher late this week. Upside surprises in important labor market, housing, and manufacturing reports were negative for the Austin mortgage market and positive for stocks.
Best bet for Austin mortgage borrowers is to lock in their interest rate. It just makes cents (and dollars too). Expect the day to be one of “squaring up” for traders in both bonds and stocks, with not much movement seen from current levels.
Generally weaker than expected economic data again pushed Austin mortgage rates to new lows this week. The current Fed outlook is for below average economic growth with low inflation, which is a favorable environment for low Austin mortgage rates.
Conditions favor continued bullish price action (Austin mortgage price improvement) but probably at a slower pace. Reason being is that we’re in the 10th consecutive week of positive price action on the weekly chart. Something that is rare to see (8 weeks or more).
Probability of a worsening Austin mortgage price change is gaining. Nothing huge, just volatile. As I mention late last week, borrowers should be careful as the market continues to churn on headlines from out of the blue!
Weaker than expected economic data and continued low inflation helped Austin mortgage rates move a little lower from last week. In recent weeks, investors have modified their consensus outlook to reflect weaker economic growth during the second half of the year.
Economic data moved Austin mortgage rates this week. Slower than expected economic growth data and low inflation figures were favorable for the Austin, TX mortgage market. As a result, Austin mortgage rates ended the week lower.
