This week only two economic reports are scheduled to be released: Jobless Claims on Thursday and Consumer Sentiment Index (UoM) on Friday. In addition to these two reports the Treasury will sell a total of $72 Billion in Notes and Bonds this week. If last week is any indication of the trend continuing in market news then we could see Bonds and home loan rates worsen and Stocks rise.
The Jobs Report last week showed 243,000 jobs created. This was much higher than the market expected. Also unexpected was the 257,000 private jobs that were created and the 0.2% decline in the Unemployment Rate, bringing it to 8.3% which is the lowest it’s been since February 2009.
The trend though much more positive than it’s been for quite some time is that we still have a struggling housing market, major problems in Europe, high unemployment, and a very fragile economy.
Therefore the news this week will have a moderate impact towards an increase in interest rates if any news is good on the economic front in regards to the Jobless Claims and Consumer Sentiment Index (UoM) reports. So let’s watch Thursday and Friday and see what happens. Also keep a careful eye on the events in Europe.
The bottom line is that now is a great time to purchase a home. Interest rates are still at historic lows and there are great deals that can be made.
- Properties marked with the CCAR-approved icon are provided courtesy of The Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS® Broker Reciprocity Database.