Mortgage News Weekly 6/8/20

In This Issue…

Last Week in Review: Rates Tick Up, But Still All-Time Lows

A Look Ahead: Encouraging Words

The Mortgage Market Guide View: 3 Tips for Great Professional Headshots

Last Week in Review:

Rates Tick Up, But Still All-Time Lows

This past week, home loan rates ticked a bit higher from their best levels in U.S. history. More importantly, this increase in rates may be the start of a trend in higher rates.

Here’s four reasons why rates rose and why they may continue to do so:

Economic optimism: More and more states are reopening, and people are getting back to work. Friday’s Jobs Report showed 2.5 million jobs were created, when 8 million jobs were expected to be lost. The unemployment rate rose to over 13%, but expectations were for a much worse 20% unemployment rate. Bonds and rates don’t like good news, and this was good news.
Overwhelming policy response: The Fed and U.S. Treasury’s response to help the economy get through the coronavirus impact is by far the largest monetary stimulus in the history of the country. This is more positive news which has helped Stocks trade to their best levels since March 4. As Stocks move higher, many times rates do as well. We saw that this week.
Coronavirus uncertainty abating: Hope and optimism are rising now that we are well beyond the worst of the coronavirus. If states continue to see unemployment and new cases go down, the optimism will be justified and better times will be ahead. Stocks and rates increase during better days.
Global yields are increasing: In Germany, their 10-year Bund yield has moved from -.60% to -.27% as of this weekend. This is for the same three previous reasons. If yields in Germany continue to move higher from negative territory, U.S. rates, including home loan rates, will continue to tick higher as well.

The good news: Any uptick in rates in the near-term may be limited for two reasons. The Fed continues to purchase Bonds on a daily basis, thereby holding yields down, and economies are reopening slowly, so rates should increase slowly over time as well.

Bottom line: With rates at all-time lows, if you can secure a home loan to either refinance or purchase a home, now is a great time.

If you or someone you know has questions about home loans, give me a call. I’d be happy to help.

A Look Ahead:

Encouraging Words

The upcoming week is short on economic data with the highlights including inflation data from the consumer and wholesale level.

However, those numbers will take a back seat to more pressing headlines from the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting that kicks off on Tuesday and ends Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET, with the release of the Monetary Policy Statement. There is no chance of a change to the short-term Fed Funds Rate. The meeting will be associated with a summary of economic projections followed by a press conference from Fed Chair Powell.

Mr. Powell may not offer up any new rhetoric on the Fed and economy given that he has been in the news lately with encouraging words on the U.S. economy.

As mentioned above, with the coronavirus uncertainty abating, the worst of COVID-19 should be behind us.

Reports to Watch:

Inflation data from the Consumer Price Index will be released on Wednesday followed by the Producer Price Index on Thursday.
Weekly Initial Jobless Claims will be delivered on Thursday as the market looks for signs that job cuts are easing.
On Friday, Consumer Sentiment will be released.

The Mortgage Market Guide View:

3 Tips for Great Professional Headshots

Whether it’s time to update your company’s roster or it’s been a few years since your last headshot, you should come prepared to look your best for your upcoming headshot. Here are a few tips to follow before and during your photo shoot.

Pick out clothes you’d normally wear on the job: You should wear an outfit that best demonstrates your professionalism. Wear clothes you’d normally wear to work. For men, this can be a suit and for women, it can be a blazer or pantsuit. Wear darker, solid colors that don’t stand out and draw attention away from your face.

Fix the glasses glare: If you wear glasses every day and want to keep them in your headshot, there are a few tricks you can try. Meet with your optician and purchase glasses that have an anti-reflective coating, which keeps light from reflecting off of them. You can also ask the optician to pop the lenses out for your picture. A final option is to ask the photographer to touch up the image and fix the glare in Adobe Photoshop.

Look and feel confident as you pose: Customers want to know they’re working with a confident professional. This can reflect in your picture by sitting up straight, arching your shoulders back, and smiling naturally. Think of something that makes you happy to help your smile look relaxed and comfortable. Don’t be afraid to try other poses like crossing your arms or smiling without showing teeth.

By thinking ahead and preparing for your headshot, you can show customers how professional, personable, and confident you really are.

Sources: Meero, Paul Must, Hubspot, KeliComm

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