Forecast for the Week 
- Builder sentiment is shared in Monday’s National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index.
- Tuesday brings Building Permits and Housing Starts from March.
- March Existing Home Sales will be shared Wednesday.
- On Thursday, look for weekly Initial Jobless Claims as well as manufacturing news from the Philadelphia Fed Index.
When you see these Bond prices moving higher, it means home loan rates are improving. When Bond prices 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 are 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 declined slightly recently, but home loan rates remain attractive and near historic lows.
Chart: Fannie Mae 3.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday April 15, 2016)
The Mortgage Market Guide View…
5 Strategies for Continuous Improvement
Continuous quality improvements are something all professionals want to achieve, to help maintain satisfied customers that last beyond a single transaction. If you want to identify and make quality improvements, go beyond standard customer service evaluations. Here are five great ways to supercharge your process.
Commit to quality. This goes beyond a mere mental exercise. You must make sure you’re prepared to create new work processes, invest in training and track results.
Be your own customer. Make an appointment or complete a task on your website. Experience how “it feels” to work with you or your company. This exercise can reveal trouble spots you may have missed when creating your processes early on.
Gain insight from others. Seek out professionals in industries different from yours, and go through their process as a customer to see how other industries do things. Contrast that experience with the experience you provide for some exceptional new ideas.
Visit a competitor as a customer. If you fear you could be recognized, ask an employee or friend to go in your place and report back on the experience.
Go online to gather comparative information about your product or service and your competitors’. Many consumers research online before making a purchase decision, completing basic searches and checking out business and consumer review websites. For example, a recent National Association of REALTORS® report showed that 88 percent of home shoppers go online to get information about real estate. Don’t just assume you already know what they’re discovering; the online world is a moving target. Stay on top of what consumers are reading and saying about you and your competitors.
Following these strategies will continually encourage a fresh perspective on opportunities for quality improvements in your business.
Please feel free to share this with your team, clients and colleagues.
Sources: Inc., McKinsey & Company
Economic Calendar for the Week of April 18 – April 22
|
Date
|
ET
|
Economic Report
|
For
|
Estimate
|
Actual
|
Prior
|
Impact
|
| Mon. April 18 |
10:00
|
Housing Market Index |
Apr
|
NA
|
58
|
Moderate
|
|
| Tue. April 19 |
08:30
|
Building Permits |
Mar
|
NA
|
1167K
|
Moderate
|
|
| Tue. April 19 |
08:30
|
Housing Starts |
Mar
|
NA
|
1178K
|
Moderate
|
|
| Wed. April 20 |
10:00
|
Existing Home Sales |
Mar
|
NA
|
5.08M
|
Moderate
|
|
| Thu. April 21 |
08:30
|
Jobless Claims (Initial) |
4/16
|
NA
|
NA
|
Moderate
|
|
| Thu. April 21 |
08:30
|
Philadelphia Fed Index |
Apr
|
NA
|
12.4
|
HIGH
|
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Mortgage Info By Michelle Wickett 