Winter Haven mortgage rates improved last week as the entire country waited with anticipation for a strong, government-led stimulus plan. Unfortunately, things turned south with equal speed as the stimulus package’s efforts fell short of expectations.
Neither Uncle Ben Bernanke, nor Mr. Geithner, nor Congress gave markets what they wanted.
Between Monday and Friday, mortgage markets were essentially unchanged, ending a 4-week slide. From day-to-day, however, rates were quite volatile.
The biggest shift of the week occurred late-morning Friday, in advance of the early-market closing. As the terms of the Congress’ pending stimulus package became more clear, the piling-on of national debt suddenly spooked Wall Street, re-igniting traders’ fear of inflation.
It’s strange, in a way, because the final package represented fewer dollars than originally announced and markets had all week to come to terms with the government’s three-pronged response to economy.
Nevertheless, traders saved their angst all for the last 90 minutes of the week. Fears of inflation led to a sudden and massive sell-off in all types of bonds, including the mortgage-backed kind. Bond sell-offs are linked to higher mortgage rates, of course, and that caused mortgage rates to spike Friday afternoon.
This week, the selling is expected to continue but hope for reversal to lower rates is possible. It all depends on the news and it changes every day.
- Tuesday: Will GM and Chrysler‘s viability plans be rejected?
- Wednesday: Will the Fed‘s January meeting minutes show fear of depression?
- Thursday: Will Congress and the Treasury have clarified their respective stimulus plans?
- Friday: What will the Cost of Living index say about inflation?
Man! We have news to keep things interesting for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, unlike in previous weeks, it’s really hard to say which way these news events will move the markets. There are so many expectations cooked in to the market already that it’s hard to know how traders will react.
Amidst the future fog, there’s one thing that remains sure – Winter Haven mortgage markets are on edge, and that can be dangerous for mortgage rate shoppers.
Not to sound wishy-washy, but we’re at that point: Rates may fall off, or they may rise – based on this week’s news. We can’t know for sure but we can know that — historically — rates remain low.
If you haven’t joined the Refi Boom yet, this week may be one of your last chances. One bad bounce on Wall Street and we’re back to 6 percent.
Rates are holding steady, but as with life – the only constant with Florida mortgage rates is change! To expedite matters, call me at 863-604-3019 or apply online for your Florida home loan.
I hope you found this post useful! As always, if you or anyone you know is in need of a local Florida mortgage broker, I’m your guy. Call me at 863-604-3019 or apply online for your Florida mortgage. We’ll keep you posted and let you know when it’s time to pull the trigger!
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