Rate Notes
Occasionally there are no new record lows or even much change in the interest rates. For example, for the third straight week the overall average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 3.98%, for the week ending June 29. The 15-year fixed-rate also remained at an average 3.27%. There was also no change in the FHA-backed 30-year mortgages, staying at the previous week’s average of 3.66%. However, the overall average rate for 5/1 Hybrid ARMs did decrease by .01% to an average of 2.89%.
Economic Trending
Initial indicators for the six-month report card confirm that that the economy continues to grow very slowly. For example, the Chicago Federal Reserve’s National Activity Index dropped from a positive .08 in April to a minus 0.45 in May. (The combination of 85 economic indicators help gauge whether our economy is growing above or below its normal rate, estimated to be approximately 2.6% GDP.) According to the latest forecast from the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research (Chapman University, Orange County, Calif.), the real Gross Domestic Product will grow 2.3 percent the remainder of this year and 2.6 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s final June report on Consumer Sentiment dropped to a 73.2 level, a decrease of 6.1 points.
