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CNN Live At Daybreak
30-Year Mortgage Rate Hit Nearly 6 Percent Last Week
Aired July 25, 2003 - 06:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is time again for some business buzz. Could those hot deals to refinance your mortgage be long gone?
Let's check in with Carrie Lee live at the Nasdaq site in New York to find out.
You're kidding?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, looks like the window of opportunity here is closing a little bit because mortgage rates have soared for the third straight week. Now, according to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and this is the most popular kind, jumped to nearly 6 percent last week, 5.94 to be exact, while a 15-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 5.27 percent. Now these rates are close to the rates that we saw earlier in the year, however, they are a lot higher than they were just a month ago.
Interesting, Carol, a lot of people think that mortgage rates are -- move in tandem with what Federal Reserve Chief Alan Greenspan and company decide to do on the interest rate front, but they're actually tied to the 10-year treasuries. And we've seen a surging bond market lately, we've seen yields really surge, that is really the reason for these higher rates. So we'll see if it continues, but looks like that's been the trend for the past three weeks -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well you have to wonder what those higher mortgage rates will mean for the housing market?
LEE: The housing market has been red hot lately. It's been propping up an otherwise weak economy. And a lot of people say that these rates could possibly put the brakes on refinancings. In fact, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the MBA, their index of refinancing applications fell 7.2 percent last week.
Now we will get some housing data today for the month of June, new, as well as existing home sales. True, it's a look back rather than a look forward, but it will give us an idea of whether people are still interested. And at least if not refinancing, then purchasing new and existing homes. We're expecting a little bit of an uptick for existing home sales, but a little bit of a decline in new home sales. So that's one thing that could affect trading today. Overall, though, we're looking for a bit of a higher open this Friday, so we'll see.
COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee, live from New York at the Nasdaq site, appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 25, 2003 - 06:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is time again for some business buzz. Could those hot deals to refinance your mortgage be long gone?
Let's check in with Carrie Lee live at the Nasdaq site in New York to find out.
You're kidding?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, looks like the window of opportunity here is closing a little bit because mortgage rates have soared for the third straight week. Now, according to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and this is the most popular kind, jumped to nearly 6 percent last week, 5.94 to be exact, while a 15-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 5.27 percent. Now these rates are close to the rates that we saw earlier in the year, however, they are a lot higher than they were just a month ago.
Interesting, Carol, a lot of people think that mortgage rates are -- move in tandem with what Federal Reserve Chief Alan Greenspan and company decide to do on the interest rate front, but they're actually tied to the 10-year treasuries. And we've seen a surging bond market lately, we've seen yields really surge, that is really the reason for these higher rates. So we'll see if it continues, but looks like that's been the trend for the past three weeks -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well you have to wonder what those higher mortgage rates will mean for the housing market?
LEE: The housing market has been red hot lately. It's been propping up an otherwise weak economy. And a lot of people say that these rates could possibly put the brakes on refinancings. In fact, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the MBA, their index of refinancing applications fell 7.2 percent last week.
Now we will get some housing data today for the month of June, new, as well as existing home sales. True, it's a look back rather than a look forward, but it will give us an idea of whether people are still interested. And at least if not refinancing, then purchasing new and existing homes. We're expecting a little bit of an uptick for existing home sales, but a little bit of a decline in new home sales. So that's one thing that could affect trading today. Overall, though, we're looking for a bit of a higher open this Friday, so we'll see.
COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee, live from New York at the Nasdaq site, appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
