FIREWORKS, PARADES, MARCHING BANDS…were nowhere in sight, as the big moment for home loan rates finally arrived with little fanfare last Thursday afternoon. As expected, the Federal Reserve decided to hike the Fed Funds Rate by .25%, the latest in a string of nine consecutive increases. And this hike probably won't be the last – two or three more hikes are likely in the works. Greenspan reiterated that although inflation appears to be in check, they will continue with their present game plan. This will allow the Fed to reach a “neutral” policy target before Greenspan turns over the keys to his successor in 2006.

Home loan rates improved slightly in response to the good news on inflation, but overall didn’t change very significantly over the course of the last week.

But hold on to your sparkler, another big week is ahead with the next monthly Jobs Report arriving this Friday July 8th. The Jobs Report can impact the direction of home loan rates for days and weeks to come, so be sure to listen up next Friday morning when the numbers are announced at 8:30am ET.

Remember, as a general rule, weaker than expected economic data is good for rates, while positive data causes rates to rise.

For the week of July 04 – July 08