Quiet holiday week, rates hold steady

Happy Friday from Local Mortgage!

With a lack of major economic news, the final couple of weeks of the year were relatively quiet for mortgage markets. Mortgage rates ended just slightly higher for the week, we are still at 5.875% for our best 30-year fixed Conventional scenario.

While recent data suggests that economic growth remains on track, consumers are concerned about the outlook for the new year. The latest data on home prices from the Federal Housing Finance Agency was encouraging for buyers struggling with affordability. In October, average home prices were just 1.7% higher than a year ago, the smallest annual price increase since March 2012. 

Looking ahead, investors will continue to monitor comments from Fed officials for hints about future monetary policy. For economic reports, the ISM national manufacturing sector index will be released on Monday and the services sector index on Wednesday. The JOLTS report on job openings also will come out on Wednesday. The key Employment report will be released on Friday, and these figures on the number of jobs, the unemployment rate, and wage inflation are always closely watched.

Have a great weekend and as always, thank you for reading.