Charlotte Home Loan Advice

There are two housing related reports scheduled for release this week. The first was Februarys Existing Home Sales report released late this morning. The National Association of Realtors said that home resales rose 5.2% last month, exceeding forecasts by a wide margin. This was the largest month jump in sales since February 2004 and indicates that the housing sector may not be softening as quickly as some had thought. This is considered negative for the bond market and mortgage rates.

Tomorrow morning brings us the release of Februarys Durable Goods Orders. This report gives us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength. It tracks new orders for big-ticket ite ms, or products that are expected to last three or more years. This data is known to be volatile from month to month but is still considered to be of high importance. Analysts are expecting it to show an increase in orders of approximately 1.3%. A larger increase would be considered a negative for bonds and could lead to higher mortgage rates tomorrow morning.

The last report of the week will be released late tomorrow when Februarys New Home Sales will be posted. It will likely have little influence on mortgage rates as it covers only approximately 15% of home sales in the U.S.

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.

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