Mortgage News Weekly

•  Mortgage Rates: What a welcome sight! Rates plummeted (relatively speaking) on Friday last week and held that trend this morning, the 9th. The unemployment report missed big time, and the market is reacting as if the rate hikes from the Fed are WORKING. As a result, the market rewarded us with some breathing room.

Big Rally Late Last Week

• 223,000 jobs created, beating expectations of 200,000
• Unemployment rate declined from 3.6% to 3.5%
• Average hourly earnings up 0.3% in December and 4.6% YoY
• Average weekly earnings only rose by 0.2% last month and 3.1% YoY
• Stock and Bond markets reacted positively to slower wage growth, as it reflects less wage-pressured inflation
• Fed is committed to maintaining a restrictive policy stance until incoming data provides confidence that inflation is on a sustained path to 2%

Strong Private Sector Job Growth in December:

• 235,000 jobs created, beating expectations of 150,000
• Annual pay for job stayers increased 7.3% YoY, down from 7.6% in the previous report
• Job changers saw an average increase of 15.2%

Jobless Claims Decline But Holiday Hiring Likely Skewed Data:

• Initial Jobless Claims at 204,000, down 19,000 from previous week
• Continuing Claims at 1.69 million, down 24,000

Home Prices Still Expected to Appreciate This Year:

• CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) increased by 7% YoY in November
• HPI expected to increase by 4.5% in 2022

IMF Issues Recession Warning:

• IMF warns that the global economy is at risk of falling into a recession if the pandemic is not brought under control
• Global growth expected to slow to 5.5% in 2022, down from 5.8% in 2021
• IMF advises countries to prioritize vaccination efforts and continue implementing economic support measures

The market poised to get busy, FAST. Get ducks in line now and start looking before the masses jump head long into the market again and give sellers leverage.