Charleston mortgage report, the trend is your friend
It has been just an amazing trend in mortgage rates over the past 3 months and as they say, the trend is your friend. According to Holden Lewis at Bankrate, "the last time mortgage loan rates were this low, Grace Kelly wasn't yet a princess".
Bankrate uses an average of all mortgage rates from their survey of lenders and while they are indicating a rate of 4.75 percent, local Charleston mortgage rates are generally being quoted at 4.5 percent by my preferred lenders. So if you are thinking about buying a home in Charleston, rates are just about as favorable as you might ever find in your lifetime.
At 8:30 this morning, the monthly payroll report is due to be released and the expectations are horrible. That will generally help 10 year US Treasuries which which benefit from bad economic news and that closely parallels mortgage rates but not in lock step because as we've seen, mortgage backed securities are not quite as safe as treasuries.
But if the payroll number surprises positively, then you can expect mortgage rates to go up. And while the trend has been your friend as rates have declined, mortgage rates have historically gone up faster than they go down and then the trend goes against you.
But, while 4.5 percent is amazing, 4.75 and even 5.0 percent are still fantastic rates to lock. Don't be greedy.
UPDATE: Just in off the beach and I noticed there was basically no change in either the 10 year Treasury or mortgage rates after the release of the monthly payroll report.
But, here are a couple of gems.
Nancy Pelosi said that unemployment benefits create jobs. (sarcasm ahead) OK, sounds good to me. 
And Paul Jackson writing for Housing Wire had an excellent take on the unemployment rate dropping from 9.7 to 9.5 percent. (more sarcasm ahead) Paul and I both love government statisticians.
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Watch, as millions of unemployed workers simply disappear — you'll be amazed as the unemployment rate drops!
Ah, the circus that is unemployment data. (emphasis added)
Read the headlines Friday morning, and you might think that the nation's unemployment situation is improving: after all, the nation's unemployment rate fell from 9.7% in May to 9.5% in June. Read more.