Texas Mortgage Rate Update 8/18/2008
Texas mortgage rates have moved slightly lower today. Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and College Station interest rates are just slightly higher than there lowest point so far this year. If you are looking to purchase or refinance your Texas home, now would be an excellent time to lock in a low interest rate.
Trading activity in the mortgage market is very limited this morning. There is little in the way of major economic data on the agenda this week and next so it appears many market participants have decided to take some time-off through the end of the month. Be aware that thin trading conditions can produce extremely volatile price action.
Tomorrow morning’s 8:30 a.m. ET release of the July Producer Price Index will draw the attention of the traders still at their desk. The headline measure of price pressure at the wholesale level will likely be discounted heavily due to the fact that oil prices have declined roughly 23.0% since reaching a high of $147.27 on July 11th, 2008. Attention will be primarily focused on the core producer price index, a value that excludes the more volatile food and energy components. A core producer price index reading of 0.2% will probably generate nothing more than a sigh of relief from investors while a July core PPI gain of 0.3% or more – will likely create a major “Maalox moment” for many investors – who will respond to the longer-term implications of rising core wholesale inflation pressure by choosing to defensively nudge mortgage interest rates higher.
It appears that skyrocketing energy prices during the first-half of the year will have bled into core wholesale inflation – pushing the July number 0.3% or more higher. If my assessment is accurate, mortgage interest rates will be vulnerable to a short-term trend reversal to fractionally higher levels.
As always, If you have ever have a question on whether it is the best time for you to refinance your Texas home loan or what interest rate you can get when buying your next Texas home, feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email by filling in your information on the right hand side of this page.