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If you are looking for a Mortgage Professional who will give you the type of service that you deserve, contact Bob Amato (NMLS # 8632) and Empire Home Mortgage Inc. (NMLS # 44882). We answer our phones seven days a week until 9PM. Put us to the test! Our toll free number is (866) 742-5227.

 Visit our website, www.empirehomemortgageinc.com . There you can get answers to all of your financing questions, view rates and search for foreclosed properties.

 If you are considering locking in an interest rate for a New York mortgage or a Florida mortgage, read this post.

 Both of this morning’s economic reports gave us favorable results. The first came from the Commerce Department, who reported that retail level sales rose only 0.1% last month, falling short of forecasts. In addition, the reading that tracks sales if more volatile auto sales are excluded showed a decline of 0.2% when it was expected to rise 0.3%. This means that consumers spent much less than many had thought while holiday shopping last month. Since consumer spending makes up two thirds of our economy, today’s report should be considered very good news for the bond market and mortgage rates.

 The Labor Department also gave us some good news early this morning. They said that new claims for unemployment benefits spiked to 399,000 last week, up noticeably from the previous week’s revised total of 375,000 new claims. This is the highest we have seen in 6 weeks and hints that the downward trend in new claims was just a tease for analysts. The data indicates a weakening employment sector, making it bad news for stocks and good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

 We also have the 30 year Bond auction to watch for this afternoon. Results of today’s sale will be posted at 1:00 PM ET. If it is met with a strong demand, we could see the broader bond market improve, possibly leading to slightly lower mortgage rates later today. Yesterday’s more important 10 year Note sale went well, helping to fuel the afternoon strength in bond trading. This helps to give an optimistic outlook for today’s auction and hopefully another afternoon improvement in mortgage related bonds.

 Yesterday’s afternoon release of the Fed Beige Book indicated decent economic growth in most of the Fed’s 12 regions during the last weeks of 2011. Several parts of the regional economies showed decent expansion, but a common note was soft housing. Overall, the report didn’t give too many surprises, but since it showed an uptick in economic activity, we can consider it neutral to slightly negative for mortgage rates.

 Tomorrow also has two reports scheduled for release. The first is November's Goods and Services Trade Balance at 8:30 AM ET. It the week's least important data and probably will not influence mortgage rates. It measures the size of the U.S. trade deficit and is expected to show a $44 billion trade deficit. This data usually does not directly affect mortgage rates, but it does influence the value of the U.S. dollar versus other currencies. A stronger dollar makes U.S. securities more attractive to international investors because they are worth more when sold and converted to the investor's domestic currency. But unless we see a significant variance from forecasts, I don't believe this data will lead to a change in mortgage rates tomorrow.

 The final report of the week is January's preliminary reading to the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment just before 10:00 AM tomorrow. This index measures consumer willingness to spend and often has enough of an impact on the financial markets to slightly change mortgage rates. Good news would be if it shows a reading weaker than the 71.2 that is expected. The bond market prefers to see waning confidence because if consumers are less optimistic about their own financial situations, they are less apt to make large purchases in the near future. Slowing spending levels limits fuel for economic growth, making long term securities such as mortgage bonds more attractive to investors.

 If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

 Empire Home Mortgage Inc. is a registered Mortgage Broker with the New York and Florida State Banking Departments and our loans are arranged through third party providers.

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