Forecast for the Week

Economic reports are few and far between this week, all occurring in the second half of the week.

• First up this week is Thursday’s Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, which continue to hover near the 300,000 mark.
• Friday brings Retail Sales for August, along with the September Consumer Sentiment Index.

Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. The chart below shows Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which are the type of Bond on which home loan rates are based.

When you see these Bond prices moving higher, it means home loan rates are improving—and when they are moving lower, home loan rates are getting worse.

To go one step further—a red “candle” means that MBS worsened during the day, while a green “candle” means MBS improved during the day. Depending on how dramatic the changes were on any given day, this can cause rate changes throughout the day, as well as on the rate sheets we start with each morning.

As you can see in the chart below, Mortgage Bonds reached some of their best levels of the year, meaning home loan rates are hovering near twelve-month lows. I’ll continue to monitor them closely.

Chart: Fannie Mae 4.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday September 5, 2014)

The Mortgage Market Guide View…

Connecting with Video

Face-to-face conversations are a key component to building and maintaining client and colleague relationships. Sometimes, though, coordinating schedules can get hectic.

If schedules hamper that personal connection—whether it’s across town or across the country—consider using free or low-cost video conferencing. Several easy-to-use choices are available online.

Here are three popular services to get you started. All of them provide live video feeds, public and private chat functions, screen sharing, call-in access, and mobile applications. Pricing varies by number of meeting attendees, but all three provide a free option.

GoToMeeting. Calls for up to 100 people. Basic package provides free meetings for up to 3 attendees. www.gotomeeting.com

Skype. Calls for up to 25 people. Free Skype-to-Skype calls. www.skype.com

WebEx. Calls for up to 100 people. Basic package provides free meetings for up to 3 attendees. www.webex.com

Video conferencing provides a cost-effective, efficient solution for connecting. Plus, the video feed and screen capture provide that “just-like-being-there” feeling, making video conferencing an especially great option for meeting out of town clients who are relocating and appreciate a more personal connection.

As always, please feel free to pass these tips along to your team, colleagues and clients.

Economic Calendar for the Week of September 8 – September 12

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Mortgage Market Guide, LLC is the copyright owner or licensee of the content and/or information in this email, unless otherwise indicated. Mortgage Market Guide, LLC does not grant to you a license to any content, features or materials in this email. You may not distribute, download, or save a copy of any of the content or screens except as otherwise provided in our Terms and Conditions of Membership, for any purpose.The material contained in this newsletter is provided by a third party to real estate, financial services and other professionals only for their use and the use of their clients. The material provided is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment and/or mortgage advice. Although the material is deemed to be accurate and reliable, we do not make any representations as to its accuracy or completeness and as a result, there is no guarantee it is without errors.