Market Recap for the week of March 17, 2014.

MARKET RECAP How the Unexpected Leads to the Expected Lending rates were up this past week, though not discerningly so. When we parse the national averages, we see the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was up five basis points to 4.5%, according to Bankrate.com . Freddie Mac's data show a slightly frothier gain, with the 30-year loan up nine basis points to 4.37%. A rate increase was inevitable after the February employment report, which showed an unexpected lift in payrolls. Specifically, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the economy added 175,000 jobs last month – 26,000 more than the consensus estimate. In addition, net revisions for the prior two months show 25,000 more jobs than initially reported. The natural reaction (or the expected reaction) in the mortgage market was for rates to rise. We say that because the expected isn't what moves markets; it's the unexpected. What's expected is already baked into current market prices. When something unexpected occurs – such as the robust payroll numbers last week – markets move. In the case of interest rates, they moved up. We expect job growth to pick up pace. Recent growth has been hampered by atypically inclement weather. People simply weren't getting out and about. More telling, though, is the number of job openings, which is trending higher. The BLS reports that the number of job openings rose to 3.974 million in January compared to 3.914 million in December. Year over year, openings are up 7.6% and are at 2005 levels. The trend in job openings isn't a surprise when you look at the trend in capacity utilization rates , which reflects the extend to which factories, mines, and utilities are being used. The utilization rate is above 79%, the highest it has been in years. What's more, it has been trending higher since the second half of 2013. More employees are needed to support higher utilization rates. In addition, the rise in utilization rates points to more robust growth all around. After all, factories, mines, and utilities support other businesses. Our best estimate is for payroll growth to ratchet up to 200,000 by summer. Should that happen, and as it becomes apparent, higher payroll growth will get priced into interest rates. In short, we stick to our prediction that the 30-year fixed-rate loan will approach 5% by December. In the meantime, borrowers can capture a 30-year loan with a rate in the mid-fours, which is still darn good from a long-term historical perspective.

 

Economic Indicator	Release Date and Time	Consensus Estimate	Analysis
Home Builders' Index (March)	Mon., March 17, 10:00 am, ET	49 Index	Important. Sentiment will rebound on more construction activity.
Housing Starts (February)	Tues., March 18, 8:30 am, ET	905,000 (Annualized)	Important. Weather has hurt starts, but the pace will pick up heading into spring.
Mortgage Applications	Wed., March 19, 7:00 am, ET	None	Important. Activity eased in the recent reported week, but the outlook for purchases remains upbeat.
Federal Reserve FOMC Minutes	Wed., March 19, 2:00 pm, ET	Federal Funds Rate: 0.0% to 0.25%	Important. Expect the Fed to reiterate its commitment to “taper.”
Existing Home Sales (February)	Thurs., March 20, 10:00 am, ET	4.58 Million (Annualized)	Important. Lack of inventory and weather will have held sales growth in check.

 

Still the Cheaper Option Ownership is the way to go in many local markets. Trulia's Winter 2014 Rent vs. Buy Report shows that home ownership is 38% cheaper than renting on a national basis. The advantage also holds in most local markets. In the 100 largest metro markets, ownership trumps renting, according to Trulia. We don't believe the 38% advantage will persist into 2015. The advantage will have been whittled away by higher lending rates and higher home prices. Both will be spurred along by job growth, which, in turn, will lead to more household formation – specifically formation in home ownership. In other words, we see more demand. We've discussed in the past how the home-rental market has changed, with large institutional money pouring into to purchase single-family homes to rent. We've been somewhat skeptical of the business model. Single-family homes don't offer the economy of scale that a building of rentals does. Fixing a plumbing problem in two homes 10 miles apart is different from fixing a plumbing problem in two units 10 yards apart. In other words, we see a move to more occupied ownership. This is a good thing and a virtuous circle: As more people own a home more people will be inspired to own one too. After all, most of us prefer to live in a neighborhood of owners. We prefer to own. This is a point worth emphasizing to our clients, as is the point that they can become a part of the virtuous circle at a 38% discount to renting. Article Courtesy of Patti Wilson, American Momentum Bank>