Last weekâs housing related news was minimal, but a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers revealed that although credit standards for commercial and industrial loans as well as credit cards are easing, current mortgage credit standards are more stringent than in 2005.
April's meeting of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee was held along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
April's meeting of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee was held along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Last week's economic news was dominated by speeches given by Federal Reserve presidents, the minutes from April's FOMC meeting and commencement address given by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. The latest readings for new and existing home sales were also released.
Results from a Federal Reserve survey of senior bank loan officers indicated that lenders have held the line on prime lending standards and have raised standards for sub-prime and non-traditional home loans.
Housing Starts exceeded expectations and also beat October's reading of 889,000. November housing starts were posted at 1.09 million against a consensus of 963,000. This reading is more in line with the NAHB/Wells Fargo Home builder Market Index, which reached a four month high with December's reading.
There was potentially good news for mortgage rates on Wednesday as the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that its quantitative easing (QE) program would remain unchanged for the present.
The minutes for June's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) suggest that committee members are mostly in agreement that the current quantitative easing program (QE) should begin winding down by year end.
The past week was active for economic news and mortgage rates. The aftermath of the Fed's indication that it may start dialing back its multi-billion dollar monthly purchases of Treasury and mortgage backed securities has sent mortgage rates to record highs.
Comments by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke after Wednesday's FOMC meeting caused havoc in financial markets as investors anticipated the potential effects of any rollback of the Fed's policy of quantitative easing (QE). Chairman Bernanke said that the Fed may begin reducing its $85 billion monthly purchase of Treasury securities and MBS toward the end of this year.
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee recently released may have a significant impact on mortgage rates going forward. One significant development from the meeting suggests that the present quantitative easing program may be modified in the near future.
Last week's positive employment reports were good news for the economy, which typically causes mortgage rates to rise, but mortgage rates ended the week lower.