Houston's Rate Sheet

Rate Watch

For the 5th straight week the 30-year Fixed fell. Dropping to a 6.15 percent average, the 30-year was down from last week's average of 6.21 percent. Long-term mortgages rates continued to fall due to economic data released last week that pointed to restrained inflation over the near term. It might be a good time to lock rates.

Freddie Mac also reports that short term rates are holding steady. 5/1 ARMs averaged 5.76 percent this week down very slightly from last week's 5.78 percent. 1-year ARMs averaged 5.15 percent this week down from last week's 5.16 percent average. We haven't seen much movement due to expectations of another Fed rate hike at the end of the month.

The economic calendar should be an interesting one. The most interesting for the real estate industry being the Housing Starts report. This can be a leading indicator for the health of the real estate industry. According to Barron's, "Housing activity is expected to moderate, but housing starts do jump around from one month to the next, so it is important to look at the 6-month moving average, the period that the Census Bureau claims it takes to establish a trend."

posted by Vincent Biondillo @ 9:44 PM