Commentary: Different day - same story.
As I mentioned in this week's edition of my newsletter "ViewPoint" the lion's share of the European debt crisis, a slowing domestic economic picture, and the expected impact of the credit market intervention plans of the Fed are already well priced into the mortgage market. From this point forward it will take massive amounts of even more dismal news and events to support steady to fractionally lower mortgage interest rates - but the slightest glimmer of improving economic news will tend to nudge rates higher.
Speaking of economic news -- today's data was mixed -- with reports showing activity in the service sector of the economy slowed last month - but a separate private employment report posted a modest but nonetheless surprising increase. Most mortgage investors appear to have simply shrugged the data off as they wait for the release of the much more important September nonfarm payroll figures on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET.
It is Wednesday -- which means the Mortgage Bankers of America is out with its Mortgage Application Survey for the week ended September 30th. According to the MBA overall loan demand was down 4.3% from the previous week - with refinance requests falling 5.2% and purchase requests lower by 0.8%.
The contract rate for 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgages finished the week at 4.18%, down 6 basis-points from the prior week, down 13 basis-points from four weeks ago, and down by 27 basis-points from the year ago mark.
THE MARKET IS ALWAYS RIGHT! . YOU AND I ARE SOME OF THE TIME
