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Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 37,986.49, unchanged from 37,983.24 last week. It is up 0.8% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 4,967.23, down 3.1% from 5,123.41 last week. The S&P is up 4.2% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 15,281.01, down 3.5% from 16,175.09 last week. It is up 1.8% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.62% up from 4.50% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.72%, up from 4.61% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of April 18, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.1%, up from 6.88% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.39%, up from 6.16% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Year-over-year home prices jumped almost 8% in March. – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales totaled 267,470 in March, down 7.8% from 290,470 closed sales in February, and down 4.4% from a revised 279,700 homes sold on an annualized basis last March. There was a 2.6-month supply of homes on the market in March, down from a 3-month month supply of homes in February and up from a 2.1-month supply one year ago. T he statewide median price paid for a home in March was $854,490 up 7.9% from a revised median price of $793,260 last March.

Have a great weekend!

Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 37,983.24, down 2.4% from 38,904.04 last week. It is up 0.8% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,123.41, down 1.6% from 5,204.34 last week. The S&P is up 7.4% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 16,175.09, down 0.4% from 16,248.52 last week. It is up 7.8% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.50%, up from 4.39% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.61%, up from 4.54% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of April 11, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.88%, up from 6.82% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.16%, up from 6.06% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Home sales data for March will be released next week by the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors. We have that data tabulated now and you can view that data for your city or zip code at RodeoRe.com.

Have a great weekend!

Employers added another 303,000 new jobs in March – The Department of Labor and Statistics reported that 303,000 new jobs were added in March. That blew away the 200,000 new jobs that analysts expected, and it marked the fourth straight month with job gains above 200,000 and the 39th consecutive month of job growth. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.8% in March, down from 3.9% in February, marking 26 straight months of unemployment below 4%. That has not happened since the 1960s. Investors are puzzled as to how the economy and labor market have remained so strong after 11 rate hikes and the highest Fed interest rates in 24 years. Average hourly wages increased 4.1% year-over-year in March, down from 4.3% in February, which was the only part of the report that does not put pressure on inflation. Bond yields and mortgage rates ended the week at their highest levels since last October.

Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 38,904.04, down 2.3% from 39,807.37 last week. It is up 3.2% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,204.34, down 1% from 5,254.46 last week. The S&P is up 9.1% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 16,248.52, down 0.8% from 16,379.46 last week. It is up 8.2% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.39%, up from 4.22% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.54%, up from 4.39% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of April 4, 2024, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.82%, up from 6.79% last week. The 15-year fixed was 6.06%, down from 6.11% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.