By James Brooks

The bond market is up 6/32 (2.16%), which should improve Raleigh area mortgage rates by .125 of a discount point.

Today has nothing scheduled that is likely to affect bond trading noticeably or mortgage rates. I would not be surprised to see a very calm day, assuming the major stock indexes remain near their current levels. If stocks make a move upward, we could see pressure in bonds that leads to a slight increase in mortgage pricing.

The National Association of Realtors will give us the week’s first piece of relevant economic data when they post May's Existing Home Sales report at 10:00 AM ET tomorrow. This report tracks resales of existing homes, giving us a measurement of housing sector strength. It is considered to be moderately important to the markets, but can influence mortgage rates if it shows a sizable difference between forecasts and actual results. Analysts are currently expecting to see a small decline in sales, pointing towards a softening housing sector. That would be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates. A weaker housing sector makes overall economic growth more difficult, so a sizable decline would be ideal for the bond market and mortgage shoppers.

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.