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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.

There
are six pieces of economic news that may affect mortgage rates this
week. Some of the data is considered highly important to the financial
and mortgage markets, so it will likely be an active week for mortgage
rates. As the week progresses, the data gets more important.

Unlike
most Mondays, there is data being posted with the release of October’s
New Home Sales report. It will give us an indication of housing sector
strength, but is the week’s least important release. Analysts are
expecting to see little change between September’s and October’s sales
of newly constructed homes. It will take a large change in sales for
this data to influence mortgage rates.

November's Consumer
Confidence Index (CCI) will be released Tuesday morning by the
Conference Board. It gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to
spend. If consumer confidence is rising, analysts believe that consumers
are more apt to make larger purchases, essentially fueling economic
growth. This makes long term securities such as mortgage related bonds
less attractive to investors and usually leads to higher mortgage rates.
Analysts are expecting to see a sizable increase in confidence from
last month's level, meaning consumers were more optimistic about their
own financial situations this month than they were last month. A weaker
reading than the 44.0 that is expected would be good news for mortgage
rates, while a stronger reading could push mortgage rates higher
Tuesday.

The next piece of data that we need to be concerned with
comes early Wednesday morning when revised 3rd Quarter Productivity
numbers are posted. This index is expected to show an upward revision
from the preliminary reading of worker productivity. Higher levels of
productivity are thought to allow the economy to expand without
inflationary pressures rising. This is good news for the bond market
because economic growth itself isn't necessarily bad for the bond
market. It's the conditions around an expanding economy, such as
inflation, that hurt bond prices and mortgage rates. Current forecasts
are calling for an annual rate of 2.6%, down from the previous estimate
of 3.1%.

Also Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release their
Beige Book. This report, which is named simply after the color of its
cover, details economic conditions by region. That information is relied
on heavily during the FOMC meetings when determining monetary policy,
so its results can influence bond trading and mortgage rates if it shows
any significant surprises. More times than not, this report will not
influence the markets enough to cause intraday changes to mortgage
rates, but the potential to do so does exist.

November's
manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) will
be posted at 10:00 AM ET Thursday. This index measures manufacturer
sentiment and can have a considerable impact on the financial markets
and mortgage rates. Current forecasts call for a small decline in
sentiment from October to November. October's reading was previously
announced as 50.8. A weaker reading than the expected 51.0 would be good
news for the bond market and mortgage rates. A reading above 50 means
that more surveyed trade executives felt business improved during the
month than those who felt it had worsened. The lower the reading the
better the news for bonds because waning sentiment indicates a slowing
manufacturing sector and makes a broader economic recovery less likely.

The
biggest news of the week comes Friday morning when the Labor Department
posts November's Employment figures. This is arguably the most
important monthly report we see. It is comprised of many statistics and
readings, but the most watched ones are the unemployment rate, the
number of news jobs added or lost during the month and average hourly
earnings. Current forecasts call for no change in the unemployment rate
of 9.0% while 117,000 new jobs were added to the economy. The income
reading is forecasted to show an increase of 0.2%. An ideal scenario for
mortgage shoppers would be a higher unemployment rate than 9.0%, a
smaller increase in payrolls and no change in the earnings reading. If
we are fortunate enough to hit the trifecta with all three, we should
see the stock markets fall, bond prices rise and mortgage rates move
lower Friday. However, stronger than expected readings would likely fuel
a stock rally and bond sell-off that would lead to higher mortgage
rates.

Overall, the most important day of the week is Friday with
the employment figures being released, but we may also see sizable
movement in rates Thursday. Friday's employment data could cause a
significant change in rates, but Thursday's ISM index is also one of the
more important reports we see each month. If Friday's data reveals
stronger than expected results we may see rates spike higher after its
release, possibly erasing any gains from the week. It will probably be
the key to rates moving lower or higher for the week. I suspect it will
be a fairly active week for the markets and mortgage pricing, especially
the latter part, so it would be prudent to maintain contact with your
mortgage professional if still floating an interest rate.

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... Lock if my closing was taking place
between 21 and 60 days... Lock 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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