Residential Finance Corp. Mortgage Market Review: Unemployment Numbers Likely Effect on Short Term Rates

Jobs added unlikely to affect Fed purchase of MBSs, according to mortgage industry expert

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the Residential Finance Corp. Mortgage Market Review – which tracks leading economic indicators and offers an outlook on their expected effect on the mortgage market and housing sector – the significant decrease in the jobless rate and increase in the number of jobs created in September will likely cause a slight, short-term uptick in mortgage interest rates.

“For those who haven’t yet locked in a rate – there is still time. We actually expect long-term rates will likely move lower in the future due to the continued asset purchase and the commitment to keep the Fed Funds rate low.”

“The numbers will not, however, affect the Federal government’s recent commitment to purchase $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities, monthly, for the near term,” stated Residential Finance Corp. (RFC) chief market strategist and mortgage industry expert, Barry Habib. “The economy is not showing a significant enough improvement, making these asset purchases critical to helping the industry, and economy, move forward. The expected short-term volatility and rate increase will be just that – short term – as we expect to see rates settle back to current lows driven by the Fed’s asset purchases.”

The Department of Labor & Statistics reported today that the unemployment rate has dropped by 0.3 percent to 7.8 percent and 114,000 jobs were added during September. “This significant decrease in unemployment is not likely to have an impact on the overall economy until and unless the decrease were to become a trend with continued improvements over another two-to-three months,” Habib explained.

“Earlier this week, we correctly recommended to our customers that they lock at the current, low rates prior to the jobs announcement. This proved to be a great recommendation that served our customers well,” Habib said. “For those who haven’t yet locked in a rate – there is still time. We actually expect long-term rates will likely move lower in the future due to the continued asset purchase and the commitment to keep the Fed Funds rate low.”

Habib encourages consumers who are still on the fence regarding refinancing to start the process in the next couple of months in order to take advantage of the still historically low rates.

About Barry Habib

Barry Habib is vice president and chief market strategist at Residential Finance Corp. Habib is a frequent speaker on financial markets, housing, negotiation, sales training, building relationships, technical trading analysis and staying motivated at industry events and conferences. He appears regularly on Fox Business Network and CNBC Network where his segment, The Monthly Mortgage Report has appeared for over 13 years on Squawk Box.

About Residential Finance Corp.

Founded in 1997, Residential Finance Corporation (RFC) (www.residentialfinance.com), offers homeowners and homebuyers nationwide a wide range of home mortgage loan options, including special lower-rate government-insured FHA and VA loans, residential mortgage loans, jumbo mortgage loans, and reverse mortgages. RFC’s highly-trained staff delivers mortgage expertise and customer service excellence, winning the company many awards, including Columbus Business First Corporate Caring Award, Columbus Business Journal Best Place to Work, Florida Trends Best Company in Florida, American Business Award Sales Department of the Year, Inc Magazine INC5000 Fastest Growing Company, and American Society of Training and Development Excellence in Practice. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, RFC has branches throughout the country, and is seeking loan officers and branch managers to join their network of branches. For more information contact, Jessica Manna at 614.255.4317 or www.myrfccareers.com. NMLS#1652. Equal Housing Lender. Equal Opportunity Employer.