Market Updates

Austin Mortgage Update – Week Ending 3/27/09

What Did Interest Rates Do This Week?
** based on week’s average with 1pt **

30-yr Fixed – Slightly Lower
This Week:  4.76%
Last Week:  4.77%
1yr Ago:  5.85%

15-yr Fixed – Slightly Lower
This Week:  4.53%
Last Week:  4.57%
1yr Ago:  5.34%

Highlight of This Week’s Major Economic Reports

Surprising news popped up in the housing market as existing home sales jumped an astounding 5.1% in February, while new home sales also beat market expectations with a 4.7% increase.  This is the first big jump in home sales in a few months, and it’s another encouraging sign that we may be nearing the bottom.

However, the bigger headline-nabber for the week came out of the Treasury Department with the announcement of the highly anticipated “toxic asset” plan, which is aimed at alleviating banks’ balance sheets by using up to $1 trillion in taxpayer and private investor funds to buy up such assets as subprime mortgages.  Whether the plan will work to increase the flow of lending again still remains in question, but this at least gives the government a strong weapon in tackling the ongoing financial crisis.

What to Look for Next Week

Very closely watched will be Friday’s employment report, which is expected to create another uptick in the nation’s unemployment rate.

Short-Term Rate Outlook

Stable

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