Sunday, March 22, 2020 - Article by: Mark Hemingway - Security Financial Services, LLC -
Mortgage rates surged this week as lenders increased prices to help manage skyrocketing refinance demand, reports Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-0rate mortgage rose to 3.65% from 3.36% last week. A year at this time, the rate was 4.28%. This is expected to be a short-term phenomenon as lenders work through their backlog," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist. "On the purchase front, daily loan purchase applications were rising as of mid-February but started to decline last Friday."
The first sign of the coronavirus fallout hit the labor market this morning as Weekly Initial Jobless Claims spiked 70,000 to 281,000 for the week ended March 14. Many states across the country are reporting big first time claims and that will continue for the foreseeable future given that many businesses have shut down or are seeing little activity. Claims could rise further as the virus concerns hit employers' bottom line.
Coronavirus update: Here in the U.S., there are 9,474 cases, a spike of near 40% overnight virus that includes 218 new cases with 155 total deaths. There are 227,086 cases of the virus reported worldwide, 9,285 deaths while 85,961 having recovered from the virus. Italy continues to be on total lock down. Current risk assessment from the CDC: The immediate risk of being exposed to this virus is still low for most Americans, but as the outbreak expands, that risk will increase. Cases of COVID-19 and instances of community spread are being reported in a growing number of states.
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