It sure doesn't feel like spring on the east coast. However, our calendar tells us that it is March and this week we have two important events -- Daylight Saving Time starts this week, which means we must turn our clocks forward and we have another jobs report being released. It seems like we just had a jobs report to comment on, but we must remember that February is a short month.
The jobs data has been so strong lately, our guess is that projections are
starting to creep up. There was a time not long ago in which 200,000 jobs added
was considered a fantastic month. Now 200,000 may be considered a
disappointment. If we continue to add jobs at the rate of 250,000 per month, it
is possible that the Federal Reserve Board will raise short term rates more
quickly than anticipated.Evidence the fact that rates moved up significantly during the week of the last jobs report. The move was not enough to shake the markets nor enough to deter consumers from purchasing homes. However, that does not mean another strong report could not move rates up another notch. The real estate data released in the past week was not especially strong with existing sales slightly lower than expectations and new home sales slightly higher than expectations. Even though the data was not strong, the numbers continued to be improved on a year-over-year basis -- thus the market is moving in the right direction and the very strong pending home sales numbers released on Friday confirms that assessment.
Mike Ervin
Branch Manager/Mortgage Banker
NMLS: 282715
O: 650.735.5261
C: 650.766.8500
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