Zorell's Industry Updates

This week should be an active week in mortgage rates (What's new?).  We will be digesting six economic reports and a couple of Treasury auctions that may strongly influence mortgage rates this week. The data that came out today (July 26^th) from the Commerce Dept. said that sales of newly constructed homes rose last month but unfortunately it was one of the least important reports of the week.  There is no really relevant data being posted until Thursday and that's when things will start to move around.

The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) report for July will be coming out late tomorrow morning and will measure consumer sentiment, giving us an idea of what consumers are willing to spend. If consumers are confident in their own financial situations, they are more apt to make large purchases in the near future.  This is important because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. If the CCI reads weaker than expected, that means consumers were less confident than originally thought. 

Be on the lookout for bond prices to rise and mortgage rates drop Tuesday. Current forecasts are calling for a reading of 51.0, which would be a lower reading than June's and indicate consumers are becoming less comfortable with their finances (not so much of a shocker).  The most important report of the week is Friday's preliminary GDP reading, making it one of the most important days of the week.  Go figure, the most important report is saved for Friday but I doubt we will see a drastic change in rates - if I had a longer term loan or purchase out there, I'd still be floating!!