| Last | Change | Percent | |
| S&P Futures | 1732.7 | 4.9 | 0.28% |
| Eurostoxx Index | 3022.5 | 12.1 | 0.40% |
| Oil (WTI) | 101.4 | 0.7 | 0.71% |
| LIBOR | 0.241 | -0.002 | -0.62% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 79.62 | -0.027 | -0.03% |
| 10 Year Govt Bond Yield | 2.57% | -0.02% | |
| Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA | 105.9 | 0.2 | |
| Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA | 105.2 | 0.2 | |
| RPX Composite Real Estate Index | 200.7 | -0.2 | |
| BankRate 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage | 4.24 |
Markets are higher this morning on a couple of good earnings reports out of Morgan Stanley and GE. The 10-year continues its post-crisis rally.
The government has been back at the job, but still no economic data this morning. Apparently the September jobs report will be released Tuesday. And some of the data we will get will be less than reliable.
As bonds move lower, so do mortgage rates. Since early September, the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage has fallen to 4.24%, which is the lowest level since June. Mortgage Bankers may in fact get one last bite at the refi apple before rates start heading higher for good.
The increase in rates has brought some anecdotal evidence that the red-hot California market is beginning to cool a bit. The flippers are focusing on the higher end homes, as the lower price points have been picked over. According to the California Association of Realtors, home sales were down 5% in September, and the median price fell.
The National Association of Homebuilders sentiment index fell in October as builders worried about the cost and availability of labor as well as the events in Washington. We have been hearing about skilled labor quite a bit - in spite of high unemployment, employers are finding it hard to fill certain positions. The biggest one is skilled labor. The housing bust sent many skilled laborers to the energy patch, which means there are less electricians, plumbers, etc. The NAHB is forecasting housing starts to be around 900,000 units for the month of September. This is still well below our historical average of 1.5 million. As the echo boomers find jobs, we should be in store for a massive, massive building boom given that we have tremendous pent-up household formation and we have underbuilt for the past decade.
The beatdown goes on... Wells is laying off 925 in mortgage ops. Suntrust is laying off 800.
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