Freddie Mac reports that interest on 30-year, fixed rate mortgages rose to an average of 5.15 percent this past week, up from 5.07 percent a week earlier. Mortgage rates increased along with the increase in bond yields following reports of a decline in economic growth in the fourth quarter and rising jobless claims, according to Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. He also cites the slowing housing market as a factor.
Also, at the time of this posting, the Dow is surging more than 340 points based upon surprisingly positive news from Citi Group, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others regarding their first quarter earnings. It is way too early to speculate on a banking bottom, but we are taking this as a singular positive sign that lending may loosen up in the Nashville market. This new comes on the heels of a Tennessean article that reports a record amount of condos on the market as well as bank owned auctions in the Nashville, TN area.
