Hi Friends, Mortgage interest rates have yet to make a significant move lower because the inflation numbers haven’t decreased enough to create more demand in the bond market. I had been hoping for rates to improve after the 5/10/23 and 5/11/23 inflation readings, but the government revised the inflation numbers lower for April of 2022, which caused the April readings from this year, 2023, to be almost identical to last year’s readings.
When looking at inflation, the major indicators use a 12-month running average. Dropping off higher inflation readings from 12 months ago and replacing them with lower readings from the current market will eventually cause these numbers to decline. Declining inflation is good for demand in treasury bonds and there fore good for mortgage rates. If the recent adjust ment to the April 2022 numbers had not been made, dropping off April’s readings from last year and replacing them with this year’s April readings in the 12-month running average would have caused inflation for April of this year to come down more signifi cant ly, which would have caused mortgage rates to come down as well. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
While mortgage rates have been trending downward since October
2022 when they hit the 21-year high, mortgage rates remain stubbornly above 6% APR for zero points and in some scenarios, over 7% APR. Hopefully, the inflation readings through the summer months will replace high er numbers from 2022 with lower numbers and we can start to see mortgage rates fall below 6% APR into the fives. I am getting geared up for a mini-refinance run in the mortgage industry. If you want to see if a refinance into the fives makes sense for you, please reach out soon so I can start work ing on mortgage options before the phone starts ringing.
• FFrroomm tthhee IInnssiiddee...... “How can we make our home more desirable during an Open House?” 9 One-Day DIY Projects Inside and
5 Key Questions to Ask Your Lender ...And More Stuff Every
By the time you get this June 2023 newsletter, I will have been to Berlin to visit my daughter who is in the last year of grad school, and to Switzerland to see two of my aunts who were my mother’s caretakers prior to her passing in January 2022. I am looking forward to seeing my daughter, who I last saw over the holidays in 2022 and my aunts who I last saw around the time of my mother’s passing. Going to Berlin will be a treat since the last time I was there was in 1987 when I was 17 years old and before the Berlin Wall came down. I will send some pictures in the next newsletter.
Wishing you all a fun-filled summer with your loved ones.