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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.

 Thursday's bond market has opened in positive territory after this morning’s minor economic data failed to reveal any significant surprises and the stock market rally appears to have run out of steam. The major indexes are showing sizable losses with the Dow down 120 points and the Nasdaq down 13 points. The bond market is currently up 20/32, which should improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

 Neither of this morning’s economic reports were considered highly important to the markets. August's Trade Balance report revealed a $45.6 billion trade deficit, matching July’s revised deficit. This means that the trade deficit remained unchanged between July and August. With no change in a report of low importance, the data has had no impact on this morning’s mortgage rates.

 The Labor Department said this morning that 404,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week, down slightly from the previous week’s revised total of 405,000. Analysts were expecting to see a small increase in the number of new claims, so technically this news is negative for bonds and mortgage rates. However, since it tracks only a single week’s worth of claims and the total number filed remained about 400,000, we have not seen much of a reaction to the data in today’s mortgage pricing.

 Yesterday’s 10-year Note auction did not go very well at all. That gives us little to be optimistic about in today’s 30-year Bond auction. Results will be posted at 1:00 PM ET, but unless we see a drastic difference from yesterday’s sale, I don’t believe this event will cause much change in this afternoon’s mortgage rates.

 Also posted yesterday afternoon were the minutes from the Fed's last FOMC meeting. They did give us some interesting tidbits, particularly about the divisiveness among the voting members of the group regarding what the Fed needs to do to boost economic growth. At least two members feel that another round of quantitative easing (purchasing more bonds) is needed to help get the economy moving at a faster pace. This would likely bode well for the bond market and mortgage rates if a new plan is announced. Look for rumors and discussion about QE3 in the coming weeks.

 The week closes tomorrow with the release of two economic reports, one of which is extremely important to the markets and mortgage rates. That would be September's Retail Sales report that measures consumer spending. This data is very important to the markets because consumer spending makes up two thirds of the U.S. economy. Therefore, any related data is considered to be highly important. If we see weaker than expected readings in this report, the bond market should respond favorably and mortgage rates should drop. However, stronger than expected sales would fuel optimism about the economy and would likely lead to a stock rally that hurts bonds prices and pushes mortgage rates higher. Current forecasts are calling for a 0.6% increase in sales. Good news for the bond market and mortgage pricing would be a much smaller increase.

 The last report of the week is October's preliminary reading to the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment late tomorrow morning. This index measures consumer willingness to spend and usually has a moderate impact on the financial markets. Good news for the bond market would be a sizable decline in consumer confidence, but due to the importance of the Retail Sales report, I suspect this data will have little impact on mortgage rates. It is expected to show a reading of 60.0, up from September's final of 59.4. The lower the reading, the better the news for the bond market and mortgage rates.

 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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