Housing news and economic growth in the form of Gross Domestic Product will be closely watched.
The week begins with New Home Sales being released on Tuesday followed by Existing Home Sales on Wednesday.
Weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Durable Goods Orders will be delivered on Thursday.
On Friday, the Consumer Sentiment Index and the second reading on second quarter Gross Domestic Product will be released.
Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve. In contrast, strong economic news normally has the opposite result. The chart below shows Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which are the type of Bond on which home loan rates are based.
When you see these Bond prices moving higher, it means home loan rates are improving. When Bond prices are moving lower, home loan rates are getting worse.
To go one step further, a red "candle" means that MBS worsened during the day, while a green "candle" means MBS improved during the day. Depending on how dramatic the changes are on any given day, this can cause rate changes throughout the day, as well as on the rate sheets we start with each morning.
As you can see in the chart below, Mortgage Bonds have traded in a tight pattern recently. Home loan rates remain in historically low territory.
Chart: Fannie Mae 3.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday Aug 19, 2016)
