MORTGAGE BLOGPOST TAGS
Blog posted On November 10, 2016
The market initially saw deep post-election declines but bounced back. Mortgage rates are rising more quickly than they have in recent weeks. The nation’s choice of commander-in-chief decreases the odds for a December rate hike, which have now dropped to 50%.
On Monday, consumer credit was released as $19.3 Billion with a consensus of $18.7 Billion. These metrics mark a decline in the demand for credit, compared to October’s readings. Economic activity depends on consumers borrowing within their means and also have a direct impact on interest rates.
The weekly MBA mortgage application data for last week and overall volume was down 1.2%. Purchases were up by 1%, the lowest margin since January and are up by 11% on a year over year basis, but refinances dropped to their lowest level since June, down 3%.
The election of Donald Trump led to immediate stock market declines, but stocks seem to be rebounding. The probability of a December rate hike has dropped in the wake of the unexpected election outcome. During his campaign, Trump supported investing in construction, steel, and manufacturing jobs, a policy that would improve the housing market. Trulia Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin said, “Trump hasn’t much discussed housing policy during his campaign, but he has hinted to ‘Make America Great Again’ by boosting the homeownership rate through demand-side policies, such as financial deregulation, rather than through supply-side policies such as reducing local impediments to new supply.”
Mortgage rates ticked up sharply over the course of the week, raising as much as two tenths of a percentage point according to Mortgage News Daily. We will be looking ahead to see how housing policies will be impacted by our new president and what that means for regulation and compliance.
Sources: Mortgage News Daily, HousingWire, MarketWatch, MBA, Bloomberg
