Mortgage Rates Move Up

Employment figures, or news about it, usually are a confidence measure that has immediate impact on interest rates. While the construction industry has had problems selling its houses and has lost some jobs, other job figures for the last 3 months went upward. In the meantime, California shoppers report that in spite of high gas prices and a drop in house prices, they're going Christmas shopping anyway. With the basic "upbeatness" of the economy, National Association of Realtors' economist David Lereah today predicted 2007 homes sales will continue at about the same rate as 2006, but homes prices may have a "modest gain" on the national level. Low mortgage rates allowed a huge wave of first time buyers into the market, which took up the slack in the last 2-3 years. The rate of sales is now at a more "normal" level, while mortgage rates are still low overall.