Atlanta Mortgage Rate Update - 4/24/2006

Mortgage rates improved very slightly in Atlanta last week. There were few surprises in the economic news and little in the way of guidance for a direction on rates. The only news of note was a release of the Fed meeting minutes which appears to indicate that the long string of rate hikes may soon be ending.

This week's major news releases occur on Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday's release of the consumer confidence and Thursday's initial jobless claims will provide the most volatility for the week in the bond markets.

We continue to recommend that our customers maintain a philosophy of locking their loans as soon as possible. The outlook for the forseeable future indicates that rates are on the rise.