Debt in Greece Continues to Help U.S. Mortgage Markets

Mort­gage mar­kets improved last week as Wall Street man­aged news on both sides of the eco­nomic coin. There were sev­eral instances of higher-than-expected infla­tion – an event that tends to lead rates higher — but weak domes­tic jobs data and a soft man­u­fac­tur­ing report sup­pressed the damage.

Rates were also held low by ongo­ing issues in Greece.

In Greece, the gov­ern­ment is cur­rently strug­gling to meet its debt oblig­a­tions — despite a restruc­tur­ing of exist­ing debt nego­ti­ated in 2010.

With­out a plan for its new debt, though, Greece will likely to default on what it owes.  Euro­zone and inter­na­tional bank­ing lead­ers have failed to reach con­sen­sus on the sit­u­a­tion, and now the cit­i­zens of Greece are in a state of social unrest.

The uncer­tainly sur­round­ing the nation-state spurred a bond mar­ket flight-to-quality last week. That, too, helped to keep rates low.

Last week, mort­gage rates fell for the sixth week out of nine, a streak that’s dropped con­form­ing mort­gage rates to their low­est lev­els of the year.

Specifically, What Did Those Reports Say?

Each week, I put up an economic calendar of news coming out that following week.   Here’s the what actually happened with those reports last week:

What Impacts Mortgage Rates?

If you’re looking to purchase or refinance a home, it’s important to know what moves mortgage rates.  There are normally two major things that impact the direction:

1. Economic News.  (Like the calendar above).
2. International News. (major events, pending legislation, war related news, etc).
3. Stock Market. (Money flows from equities (stocks) to bonds when it seeks shelter).

What Are Rates Based On?

It’s been mentioned before, but as a common reminder – mortgage rates are only based on one thing, Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS).  The only way you have access to these is through live bond quotes.

Looking For Mortgage Rates?

If you’re looking for specifically what mortgage rates are doing, I’d be happy to help with a custom rate quote.  Each scenario is different (there are 27 different factors a mortgage rate is determined by).  If you or someone you currently know are looking for a mortgage, I’m here to help!

Information without obligation.  That’s my policy.  If you like what you hear, my team and I would love to help you out with your mortgage!  Our contact information is on the top right hand side of this page!