Daily Commentary by Larry Baer: The day is light on economic data, and therefore
investors will look to stocks to provide the directional bias for mortgage
interest rates. Higher stock prices will tend to drag mortgage interest
rates fractionally higher while falling stock prices will tend to support
steady to perhaps fractionally lower mortgage interest rates.
As they do every
Wednesday, earlier this morning the Mortgage Bankers of America released their
Mortgage Application Survey figures for the week ended February 1st.
Overall loan demand was up 3.4%. Both purchase and refinance application
activity improved; the purchase index advanced 2.2% and the refinance index
increased by 3.5%. For the survey week refinance applications accounted
for 78% of all applications and 73% of the prospective loan volume.
The contract rate
for 30-year fixed rate mortgages rose by 6 basis-points to 3.73%. The
interest rate is 12 basis-points higher from four weeks ago, but still 32
basis-points lower from the year ago mark.
THE
MARKET IS ALWAYS RIGHT! . YOU AND I ARE SOME OF THE TIME
