Saturday AM Economist: Mortgage Update & Housing/Auto Allowance Income!

Mortgage Market

Status quo by the Federal Reserve and underwhelming economic data ended the slow climb of mortgage rates. The manufacturing and service sector indexes released this week decreased more than expected. Labor market data revealed that last month the economy added less jobs than forecasted, the average hourly earnings increased less than anticipated, and the unemployment rate increased slightly. The Fed meeting had no surprises, and no change was made to the federal funds rate. With the decline in inflation having stalled the first quarter of 2024, the Fed making no changes to monetary policy was received by the capital markets as positive. As a result, mortgage rates ended the week slightly lower than last.

Next week is very light on economic reporting and I will be monitoring continued guidance from Fed officials on the direction of future monetary policy as well as demand for Treasury auctions on Wednesday and Thursday for any potential impact on home financing terms.

• MPA: Real Estate & Mortgage Industry React to Fed’s Policy Announcement
• Calculated Risk: Realtor.com Reports Inventory Up 33.3% YoY, New Listing Up 10.4% YoY

Did You Know?

Topic: Housing/Auto Allowance Income!

Did You Know that Housing and Auto allowances may be used for qualifying income?  As a rule of thumb, a 12-month history of receipt is required for including Housing allowances and a 24-month history is required for Auto allowances.  Below is a breakdown of guidelines for each allowance.

Economic Data Points:

Have questions? 

Contact us to learn more about the specific requirements for using Allowance income or any other income types!

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