"SLOW AND STEADY?"

Last week, the economy appeared to be slowing. But despite the negative economic news, Bonds and home loan rates held steady and were unable to improve further. 
 
Let's look at what happened and what it means...
Housing Starts and Building Permits, which are leading indicators of the new home construction market, both came in below expectations that were already low. If you consider the significant amount of foreclosures and inventory overhang weighing on the market, it is no surprise to see a weak indicator on new home construction. 

Broadly speaking, foreclosures and short sales are expected

"LIFE IS A MIXED BLESSING, WHICH WE VAINLY TRY TO UNMIX" - author and journalist Mignon McLaughlin.

The labor market and the economy saw their own mixed blessings last week, when three different employment reports were released. Unlike Mignon McLaughlin’s quote above about life, these mixed job reports can actually be untangled. So let’s break down what we learned about employment last week...and, just as importantly, what’s going on with home loan rates.
 
After two disappointing employment reports earlier last week - in the form of the ADP National Employment Report and the Initial Jobless Claims Report - the labor market finally received some good news on Friday when the Labor Department released their official Jobs Report that showed 244,000 jobs were created in April. That was far above all expectations... and it was the biggest private job increase since 2006! 

"SLOW AND LOW, THAT IS THE TEMPO..."

Just like these lyrics from the "Beasties Boys" song, slow and low have been the tune for the Bond market recently, as we’ve seen our slow economy cause home loan rates to move lower recently. What’s been happening, and where are the economy and rates headed? Read on to learn more.