Las Vegas Mortgage Rates and the Economy

Las Vegas mortgage rates continue to be relative quiet this morning relative to the volatility the mortgage bond market has seen over the last several weeks.  There is no major economic date to move the markets one way or the other this morning.  There is a speech by some Fed talking heads today and tomorrow but the next decently important bit of economic data will come out on Thursday morning with the release of initial and continuing jobless claims.  Last week the jobless claims came in much lower than expected at 326,000 (this week's expectation is for an increase to 336,000) which is good news for the economy but not for Las Vegas mortgage interest rates.  That didn't translate into a good employment number on Friday which is what drove the recover of bond prices higher.  Yesterday we saw some pullback because of a bit of good economic news with the ISM non-manufacturing index coming in at 56 where the expectation was for 53 and last month's number was 52.2.

Based on the technical analysis from the chart, there is a much greater risk to the downside then there is a possibility of upward movement in bond prices so I recommend locking.  The long term trend for rates is up due to the high probability that the Fed will begin the tapering process for the Quantitative Easing program sometime between September (next month) and the end of the year with the likelihood of the program ending altogether by mid-2014.  This will take the support out from under the mortgage bond market which will allow the prices to fall and interest rates to continue their upward trend.

Solution to interest rates trending up:
If you are in the market to buy a home over the next year and are concerned about rising interest rates but don't have a property picked out now, we have a solution that will allow you to lock in an interest rate now without even having identified a property.  We now offer a forward lock commitment that will allow a borrower to lock a rate for a year based only on a loan amount.  If you have a property but you are awaiting a short sale approval from the seller's lender, you can lock that loan as well using this option.  If rates are better than the rate you lock in, we can re-lock you at current rates.  This is an amazing bit of insurance against rising rates - what are your thoughts regarding this?  Please comment and share your ideas.  Contact me if you would like to learn more about this or if I can help you in any way - 702-812-1214.  Thanks for your support and business - please share this with your friends, family, neighbors, clients or anyone you know who is looking to buy a home or refinance their current mortgage.  I believe that no one knows Las Vegas mortgage rates better than me.  

The Las Vegas Mortgage Market Minute

The Las Vegas Mortgage Market Minute is up on my YouTube channel:

In this video you will get advice on whether to lock or float and other information about the mortgage bond market.

I also introduce a new value-added thing we can do for our Realtor partners and their clients:  forward mortgage commitments which means we can lock loans for up to 1 year.  Since interest rates are trending up and will probably accelerate that trend due to the soon-to-be tapering of the quantitative easing program and its eventual end, being able to lock in an interest rate today is a great thing.

What makes this even better is that we can lock on TBDs (no property address needed) or you can use it to lock a loan that is waiting on a short sale approval from the seller's lender.  By being able to offer this, you are able to real in the buyer so that they won't even consider using another Realtor.  We can also "float" down if by some chance rates are better then what the client locked at.

For details, please call me at 702-812-1214.  Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.  Make today great.