Commentary: Yesterday's weak 3-year note auction sent the credit markets into a selling tailspin that has yet to show meaningful signs of ending.
Uncle Sam is set to add fuel to the fire as he sets up to sell $24 billion of 10-year notes at auction this afternoon to be followed by the sale of $16 billion of 30-year bonds tomorrow. In the face of this oncoming supply -- the prospect for a move to fractionally lower mortgage interest rates remains dim.
As they do every Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers of America have released their Mortgage Application Survey figures for the week ended February 4th. During the reporting period overall requests for mortgage loans declined 5.5% from the prior week, with purchase applications falling by 1.4% while refinance requests were 7.7% lower. The national average contract rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages finished at 5.13%, up by 32 basis points from a week earlier, up by 35 basis points from the month ago mark, and up by 19 basis points from the year ago level. Refinance applications accounted for 6 out of every 10 loan applications taken during the week.
THE MARKET IS ALWAYS RIGHT! . YOU AND I ARE SOME OF THE TIME
