Commentary: Trading activity is light this morning in the mortgage market. Many traders have slipped away to get an early start on the upcoming three-day Good Friday Holiday.
Those mortgage investors still at their desks gave this morning's March Existing Home Sales report from the National Association of Realtors nothing more than a passing glance. The data showed the pace of existing home sales took a turn for the better in March - improving 3.7% from the February level. Home sales, whether existing or new, is a jobs story. If job and income growth accelerate in the months to come you can bet the pace of home sales will show an upward trend trajectory as well. This is a "wait-and-see" story.
In other news of the day the Mortgage Bankers of America have released their mortgage application survey for the week ended April 15th. The overall index climbed 5.3% -- driven in part by a strong 10.0% improvement in the number of purchase applications taken last week. Refinance loan requests were up a modest 2.7%. The average contract rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages finished the week at 4.83%, down 15 basis-points from the week ago mark, up 3 basis-points from four weeks ago, but down 21 basis points from the year ago level. According to the MBA, the composition of the forward-looking prospective loan volume for March is now almost perfectly balanced between purchases and refinances.
The mortgage market will likely remain quiet through tomorrow's early close even as investors put the finishing touches on their risk management strategies in front of next week's three-part, $99 billion Treasury debt auction featuring two-, five-and seven-year notes. Traders are also keenly aware that the Federal Open Market Committee will convene a two-day meeting on Tuesday, April 25th - and will approach that event cautiously as well.
THE MARKET IS ALWAYS RIGHT! . YOU AND I ARE SOME OF THE TIME
