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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.

 Tuesday's bond market has opened well in negative territory as a reaction to yesterday's rally in stocks.The bond market was closed yesterday in observance of the Columbus Day holiday, but the stock markets were open for trading.The Dow and Nasdaq both rallied yesterday 330 points and 86 points respectively as news from overseas eased financial fears, at least temporarily. Since the bond market was closed, the reaction in bonds is taking place early this morning. This morning's stock trading is less troublesome for the bond market with the Dow with and Nasdaq mixed. Dow is currently down 5 points while the Nasdaq has gained 16 points.

The bond market is currently down 18/32, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury Note up to 2.14%.This will likely equate to this morning's mortgage rates being approximately .125 - .250 of a discount point higher than Friday's morning pricing. There is no relevant economic data being posted this morning, so look for the stock markets to be the biggest influence on bond trading and mortgage rates.If the major stock indexes move noticeably higher than current levels, we could see further weakness in bonds and upward revisions to mortgage rates later today.However, if they move much lower than where they are currently, the result could be improvements to mortgage pricing this afternoon. The rest of the week brings us the release of only three economic reports that are of interest to the mortgage market along with the minutes from the last FOMC meeting and two important Treasury auctions.

 The week also gets heavy in quarterly earnings releases for companies, which could cause significant movement in the stock markets. The earnings results could affect bond trading as investors move funds into stocks if the reports are good. The other possibility is that earnings would generally disappoint, meaning investors may move funds out of stocks and into bonds as a safe-haven. The latter would be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates.

 Tomorrow afternoon brings us the release of the minutes from the Fed's last FOMC meeting. These may be a major mover of the markets or could be a non-factor, depending on what they say. The key will be concerns over the economy, inflation and the Fed's next move. If Fed members were concerned about the economy slipping into another recession, we may see the bond market move higher and mortgage rates lower after the their release at 2:00 PM ET tomorrow.

 It will be interesting to see how much debate and disagreement amongst members took place during the meeting.Also, investors will be looking for any indication of what the Fed may do next to help boost economic activity.I suspect that we will see some movement in the markets as a result of this release tomorrow afternoon. Also tomorrow is the first of two important Treasury auctions this week. The sale of 10-year Notes will be held tomorrow while 30-year Bonds will be sold Thursday. We often see some weakness in bonds ahead of the sales as the firms participating prepare for them. However, as long as the auctions are met with decent demand from investors, the firms usually buy them back. This tends to help recover any presale losses. But, if the sales are met with a lackluster interest from investors, particularly international buyers, the bond market may move lower after the results are posted and mortgage rates may move higher. Those results will be announced at 1:00 PM each sale day. Overall, I am expecting to see a fair amount of movement in mortgage rates this week, especially the latter part of the week. The key economic report is Friday's Retail Sales data but tomorrow's FOMC minutes also have the potential to heavily influence the markets.

 Therefore, we can label tomorrow or Friday as the most important day of the week. Also worth noting is the active week for corporate earnings that can cause a great deal of volatility in stocks and mortgage rates any day of the week. Accordingly, please proceed cautiously and maintain contact with your mortgage professional if you have not locked an interest rate yet.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock 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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