Thursday – October 28, 2021
Home borrowing costs inched higher this week and remain just above historic lows. Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose five basis points to 3.14% with 0.7 in points and fees. The record low was 2.65% on January 7 of this year. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist said, “Mortgage rates are rising, but purchase demand remains firm, showing that latent purchase demand exists among consumers.”
First-time unemployment claims fell to lows not seen since before the shutdowns began in late March 2020. At present, there are almost 11 million jobs available across the nation. The Labor Department reports that Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell 10,000 to 281,000 for the week ended October 23, 2021. Continuing claims, or those receiving benefits for at least two weeks straight, fell to 2.243 million from 2.480 million. The labor market should continue to improve with holiday hiring underway.
The first read on Q3 2021 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed a gain of just 2%, lower than the 2.4% expected and down sharply from the robust rise of 6.7% in Q2. The slower growth was attributed to the current supply chain bottleneck and labor shortages. Consumer spending rose 1.6% in the quarter, down from the frothy 12% in Q2. Two key inflation measures within the report declined.
Courtesy of Mortgage Market Guide
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Wednesday – October 27, 2021
Home borrowing costs increased in the latest week and hit the highest level in eight months but remain historically low. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose seven basis points to 3.30% with 0.34 in points for the week ending October 22, 2021. Within the report it showed that the Market Composite Index was essentially unchanged, the Refinance Index declined 1.6% and the Purchase Index saw a 3.5% gain. A spokesperson said, “The increase in rates triggered the fifth straight decrease in refinance activity to the slowest weekly pace since January 2020. Higher rates continue to reduce borrowers’ incentive to refinance.”
Consumer Confidence rose in October after declines seen in the three previous months as consumers planned on purchasing homes, automobiles, and major appliances. This is signaling that consumer spending will continue to support economic growth through the end of the year. The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 113.8 this month from 109.8 in September. Nearly half of those surveyed are planning on taking a vacation in the next six months, the highest rate since February 2020. “Consumer confidence improved in October, reversing a three-month downward trend as concerns about the spread of the Delta variant eased,” said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.
Courtesy of Mortgage Market Guide
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Monday – October 25, 2021
With the holiday shopping season underway who’s hiring to fill positions for November and December? Walmart is hiring 170,000 seasonal and temporary workers and is the largest so far of the major retailers. Amazon is looking to fill 165,000 permanent positions while UPS will be looking to add 100,000 seasonal workers. Also, Target is expected to add 100,000, the U.S. Postal Service 100,000, FedEx 90,000 and Kohl’s is expected to hire 90,000.
Gas prices continue to rise due in part to the recent gush in oil prices. Motor club AAA reports that the national average price for a gallon of gasoline rose six cents over the past week to hit $3.38. The pump price has gone up every day in the past 27 days, adding approximately 20 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas. The current price is up from $3.32 a week ago, up from $3.18 a month ago and from $2.16 a year ago. The price of West Texas Intermediate oil hit $85/bbl, the highest in seven years. “With the U.S. economy slowly recovering from the depths of the pandemic, demand for gas is robust, but the supply is tight,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “We haven’t seen prices this high since September of 2014.”
Courtesy of Mortgage Market Guide
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