Eggs– the price of a dozen eggs hit $4.15 nationwide ($7.49 in OR) prompting the heist of 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania which law enforcement has yet to solve. While Avian Flu has pushed prices up double since summer 2023, we still haven’t hit the record high of $4.82 per doz set two years ago.
Mortgage Rates – improved slightly this week as the price of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) continues their steady upward march observed since mid-Jan. Rates are up approximately 0.25% from this time last year.
Jobs – the BLS released their January Report and it showed 143,000 job creations, which was weaker than expectations of 170,000 but positive revisions were made to the previous 2 months of reports that added 100,000 job creations. Hourly earnings rose 0.5% in January and the bond market responded negatively to that figure. Weekly earnings, which is the more important numbers because it shows take home pay, rose 0.2% and are up 3.8% year over year. The unemployment rate fell from 4.1% to 4% which added additional pressure to the bond market.
Home Values – were flat in the month of December and prices are up 3.4% year over year. CoreLogic predicts values will increase 4.1% over the next 12 months which is up significantly from last months’ forecast.
Mortgage Applications to purchase homes fell 4% last week and are flat year over year. Refinance applications increased 12% last month and are up 17% year over year.