By James Brooks

The bond market is up 6/32 (2.22%), which should improve today's mortgage rates by approximately .125 of a discount point.

Today's only relevant economic data was March's Existing Homes Sales at 10:00 AM ET. The National Association of Realtors announced a 4.4% rise in home resales last month. This exceeded expectations and pushed sale levels to their highest point since February 2007. Because housing sector strength helps make broader economic growth more feasible, this is bad news for bonds and mortgage rates.

Next week doesn't have a large number of reports scheduled for release but does have a couple of important ones. Of particular interest will be the initial 1st Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reading. There also are a couple of Treasury auctions that may influence rates and corporate earnings season really picks up steam.

There is nothing set for Monday that we need to be concerned about, so weekend news and/or stock movement are likely to be behind a noticeable move in rates as the week starts.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now.