Chicago's Mortgage Choice - June 27, 2017 Real Estate Report - Half-Way There

We are approaching the half-way point of 2017. We can make an observation that it has been a very strange year. And we are not just talking about the political turmoil. For example, despite the fact that the Federal Reserve Board has raised short-term interest rates for the third consecutive quarter, we still do not have a fix on how strong the economy is right now. In their statement accompanying the increase two weeks ago, the Fed expressed optimism that the economy was getting stronger. Yet, every economic report released that week was disappointing, including readings on retail sales and industrial production. Even though just about everyone was expecting rates on home loans to rise significantly this year, this uncertainty is one reason that mortgage rates are lower than the analysts expected. One would hope that the upcoming June jobs report would lend some certainty to the equation, but thus far this year, we have even seen ambiguity within the employment sector. The unemployment rate is dropping, but the pace of jobs added has not accelerated from last year. Despite this uncertainty, the stock market has remained strong this year as the post-election rally has continued. Does this mean that the markets are optimistic that it is only a matter of time before the economy shows signs that it is picking up? Or is this rally merely a reaction to improved corporate profits? We feel that the picture will become clearer over the next several weeks, as we see additional jobs reports and a reading on the growth of the economy for the second quarter. For now, the lower long-term rates should be helping the economy in conjunction with higher stock prices. Keith Stewart 773-529-7000

Chicago's Mortgage Choice - June 20, 2017 Real Estate Report - The Deed is Done

The Federal Reserve Board's Open Market Committee met last week to consider raising short-term interest rates. As we approached the meeting, the consensus was that the Fed would move their Discount and Federal Funds Rate higher by one-quarter of one percent. The weaker than expected jobs report put a bit of doubt in some analysts' minds; however, most were still expecting the increase to be approved. Thus, no increase would have been somewhat of a surprise and an increase of more than one-quarter of a percent would have been a major surprise. Therefore, the fact that the Fed moved by one-quarter of one percent was seen as somewhat of a non-event. Just as importantly, their statement released at the conclusion of the meeting provided us clues as to what the members thought of the state of the economy. The statement lauded the progress of the economy and downgraded their forecast for inflation. They continue to espouse a gradual rise in rates and, in the fourth quarter, the Fed expects to start selling off some of the assets they have amassed in the past to help the economy. Anytime we are focused upon actions by the Federal Reserve Board, we have to remind our readers which interest rates the Fed controls directly. The Federal Funds Rate and the Discount Rate are rates the Fed charges member banks and member banks charge each other for overnight funds to balance their sheets. Thus, when we indicated that these are short-term rates, they are very short term. In reaction, other short-term rates such as three- and six-month T-Bills are affected most directly. On the other side of the coin, long-term rates, such as home loans, can move in tandem or have a different reaction, especially if the markets feel that the Fed is staying ahead of any threat of inflation. Thus, an increase in interest rates for home loans are not guaranteed to follow suit, though certainly the Fed's action last week does pose that possibility. Keith Stewart 773-529-7000

Chicago's Mortgage Choice - June 6, 2017 Real Estate Report - Cat and Mouse Game

For many years during and after the recession, the monthly jobs report was important to gauge the strength of the recovery. However, during the past two years, the release of the report has taken on a new meaning. Now we are not only measuring the strength of the economy, but also tying that information directly to actions by the Federal Reserve Board's Open Market Committee. If we added 250,000 jobs in a particular month five years ago, that was good news. But we did not have to worry about the Fed raising interest rates as a result of that information. Today, a strong report can lead us to direct action by the Fed. And so it is with the report which came out on Friday. The increase of jobs of 138,000 and the revision of last month's data was seen as weakness. However, the unemployment rate moved to 4.1%, another post-recession low, and monthly wage growth came in at forecast. The question at this point is -- are we approaching full employment, which means we are also experiencing a shortage of labor? This information, taken together with the previous month's report, tells us that there is still a decent chance that the Fed will act when they meet next week, but slightly less of a chance than before the report was released. The meeting will also be accompanied by the release of economic projections which will give us a gauge of where the Fed thinks that the economy is heading in the next several months. Keep in mind that the Fed will be considering other information which measure the strength of the economy. For example, on Tuesday last week, measures of personal income and spending for April came in with moderate strength following weak readings in March. Until the Fed meets next week, we can't say exactly how they will react, but certainly the data we saw last week give us some important clues. Keith Stewart 773-529-7000