Forecast for the Week:11/23/2009

It may be a shortened work week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but there will still be plenty of action in store. Both Monday's Existing Home Sales Report and Wednesday's New Home Sales Report will give us a read on the housing market. With many homebuyers jumping into the market to take advantage of the Homebuyer's Tax Credit - which was recently extended until June 30, 2010 and expanded to include certain qualifying existing homeowners - it will be especially interesting to see what these reports reveal. Let me know if you have any questions on the Tax Credit, or if you'd like to learn how it might benefit you or someone you know.

We'll also get several reads on the economy this week, first with Tuesday's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Report, which is the broadest measure of economic activity. Following will be Wednesday's Durable Goods Report, which gives an update on consumer and business consumption and buying behavior via data on items that are "non-disposable", like appliances, cars, cameras, etc. Wednesday also brings the Fed's favorite gauge of inflation, the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Index, found within the Personal Income Report.

More auction action...the Treasury will auction $118B in securities this week, starting with a record $44B in 2-Year Notes on Monday, a record $42B in 5-Years on Tuesday, and another record - $32B in 7-Years on Wednesday. This is an enormous amount of supply, and the market's ability to digest it all will be tested.

Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. Bonds and rates recently neared their best levels of the year, but were unable to make further improvements. Rates are likely to be moving higher in the coming months - so give me a call to discuss how the current rate climate might work in your favor, before these great rates slip away.
Thomas Ray,M.S.,Realtor
Cell/Txt:310-420-1149
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Have a great Thanksgiving everybody!.....Tom