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May 2009 home sales are up 2.4 percent, while the median price home dropped almost 17 percent, with home prices in the western U.S. dropping more than 30 percent. CNBC's Diana Olick reports.

New home sales fell 0.6 percent in May, missing expectations. CNBC’s Diana Olick reports.

This week brings us the release of only four economic reports for the markets to digest, but three of them are considered to be important and one of those three is arguably the most influential report we see each month. In addition, those four reports are being released over just three trading days. There is no relevant data scheduled for release Monday and the markets are closed Friday in observance of the Independence Day holiday, leaving the middle calendar days the focus of the week.

June's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is the first report of the week. It will be posted late Tuesday morning. It is important to the financial markets because it measures consumer willingness to spend, which is important because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. If it shows a sizable increase in confidence from last month, we can expect to see the bond market falter and mortgage rates rise slightly. Current forecasts are calling for a reading o f 55.1, up slightly from last month's 54.9 reading.

The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) will release their manufacturing index for June late Wednesday morning. This index measures manufacturer sentiment by surveying trade executives on current business conditions. A reading below 50 means that more surveyed executives felt business worsened in the month than those who felt it had improved. Analysts are expecting a reading of 44.0. That would indicate that manufacturers felt business improved slightly from the previous month. Good news for bonds and mortgage rates would be a weaker than expected reading.

The remaining two reports will be released Thursday morning. The Labor Department will post June's unemployment rate, number of new payrolls added and average hourly earnings early Thursday. These are considered to be very important readings of the employment sector and can have a huge impact on the financial markets. The ideal scenario for the bond market is rising unemployment, a large decline in payrolls and no change in earnings. Weaker than expected readings would likely help boost bond prices and lower mortgage rates Thursday. However, stronger than expected readings could be extremely detrimental for mortgage pricing. Analysts are expecting to see the unemployment rate rise 0.2% to 9.6%, while 370,000 jobs were lost and a 0.2% rise in earnings.

The Commerce Department will post May's Factory Orders data late Thursday morning, which is similar to the Durable Goods Orders report that was released last week. The biggest difference is that this week's report covers both durable and non-durable goods. It usually doesn't have as much of an impact on the bond market as the durable goods data does, but can lead to changes in mortgage pricing if it varies greatly from forecasts. Current expectations are showing a 0.2% rise in new orders from April's levels. A smaller than expected rise in orders would be considered good news for the bond market and could help lower mortgage rates slightly Thursday. However, the employment data is much more important to the markets than this report is.

Overall, Tuesday and Wednesday's data should bring some volatility in trading and mortgage rates, but Thursday's Employment report is definitely the most important of the week. Its impact can single handily lead to an improvement or increase in mortgage rates for the week. There is no early close for the bond market Thursday as previous years, but it will probably be a light afternoon in trading as traders head home for the long weekend. This could lead to additional volatility during morning trading, so I strongly recommend that you maintain contact with your mortgage professional if still floating an interest rate.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

CNBC'S Diana Olick analyzes May new housing starts, which rose by the largest amount in three months.

Weekly Rate Lock Advisory

This week will likely prove to be very active in terms of mortgage rate movement due to the economic data and other events that are scheduled. There are six economic reports scheduled for release, but in addition to the data another Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be held and another round of Treasury sales are on the calendar. Together, we have the makings of a potentially volatile week in the financial and mortgage markets.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release Monday. Tuesday brings us the first data with the release of May's Existing Home Sales report. The National Association of Realtors will give us figures on home resales. This data helps us measure housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand, but it is one of the week's less important reports. It is expected to show an increase in sales from April to May.

The only important release scheduled for Wednesday is May's Durable Goods Orders, which gives us an indication of manufacturing sector strength. It is known to be quite volatile from month to month and is expected to show a decline of 0.5% in new orders from April to May. A larger decline would be the ideal scenario for the bond market and could lead to a decline in mortgage pricing Wednesday.

Also Wednesday is the release of May's New Home Sales that is similar to Tuesday's Existing Home Sales report. This report tells us how well sales of newly constructed homes were last month. It is also expected to show a rise in sales, but will likely not have much of an impact on mortgage rates because this data is considered to be of low importance to the markets.

The FOMC meeting that begins Tuesday afternoon will adjourn Wednesday afternoon. It is widely expected that Mr. Bernanke and company will not change key short-term interest rates at this meeting. But, as we have seen so many times in the past, it i s the post meeting statement that often creates the most volatility in the markets. They could give an opinion of the overall economy or inflation, hinting at a possible future move or lack of one. Statements like these could cause a knee-jerk reaction in the markets and possibly mortgage pricing Wednesday afternoon. 

The only relevant economic data scheduled for release Thursday is the final reading to the1st Quarter GDP and weekly unemployment claims. The GDP data is quite aged now (covers January through March) and will likely have little impact on the bond market or mortgage pricing unless it varies greatly from previous readings. Last month's first revision showed a 5.7% decline in the GDP. This month's second and final revision is expected to the same decline.

May's Personal Income and Outlays data will be posted Friday morning. This report gives us an indication of consumer ability to spend and current spending activity. Analysts are expecting to see an increase of 0.2% in income and a 0.4% rise in the spending portion of the report. Smaller than expected increases should be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates. 

The second report of the day and the last important data of the week will come from the University of Michigan who will update their Index of Consumer Sentiment for May. An upward revision would be considered a negative for bonds.

Also worth noting is the fact that the Fed will be selling $104 billion in new debt this week. These sales may influence trading enough to affect mortgage rates. There are sales every day except Friday but the two most likely to affect rates are Wednesday and Thursday's sales. If they are met with a strong demand, we could see bond prices rise some during afternoon trading. This could lead to afternoon improvements to mortgage rates. But, the sales draw a lackluster interest from investors, mortgage rates may move higher during afternoon trading.

Overall, Monday will likely be the quietest day of the week. The most active should be Wednesday due to the importance of the data and FOMC meeting. Friday's news may also affect mortgage rates, but likely not as much as earlier days. This would definitely be a good week to maintain constant contact with your mortgage professional.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Float if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers. 

Real estate agent Barbara Corcoran shares tips for people considering a reverse mortgage in these tough economic times.

Weekly Rate Lock Advisory

This week is fairly busy with five economic reports scheduled to be released. Two of the five are considered to be of high importance to the markets and mortgage rates. The remaining three are of interest to the markets but likely will not cause a large change in mortgage rates unless they vary greatly from forecasts.

The first data of the week comes Tuesday when there are three reports scheduled to be posted. The day's reports are a broad spectrum of data ranging from housing figures to manufacturing output to an important inflation reading. Their importance to the markets also is a wide variety. The first report of the day is May's Housing Starts that tracks starts of new home projects. It is the week's least important report and likely will not affect mortgage rates unless its results vary greatly from the 5.5% increase that has been forecasted.

The second is one of the two highly important reports of the week. May's Producer Price Index (PPI ) will also be posted early Tuesday morning. It helps us measure inflationary pressures at the producer level of the economy. There are two readings of this index, the overall and the core data. The core data is considered to be the more important of the two because it excludes more volatile food and energy prices. A large increase could raise concern about inflation rising as soon as the economy pulls out of the recession. This would not be good news for bond prices or mortgage rates since inflation erodes the value of a bond's future fixed interest payments. Rising inflation causes investors to sell bonds, driving prices lower and mortgage rates higher. Analysts are expecting to see an increase of 0.6% in the overall index and a 0.1% rise in the core data. It will not take much of a variance from forecasts for the markets to react, which would most likely lead to changes in mortgage rates. 

The third and final piece of data scheduled for Tuesday is May's Industrial Production. This report will be released at 9:15 AM ET and is considered to be moderately important. It measures output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities, giving us a fairly important measurement of manufacturing sector strength. If it reveals that production is rising, concerns of manufacturing strength may come into play in the bond market. A larger than expected 0.8% decline would indicate that the manufacturing sector is weaker than expected and should help push mortgage rates lower. That is assuming that the PPI doesn't surprise us. 

Wednesday's only data is the week's most important and arguably the single most important report we see each month. This is when we will get May's Consumer Price Index (CPI). It is very similar to Tuesday's PPI, but measures inflationary pressures at the more important consumer level of the economy. It is expected to show a 0.3% rise in the overall reading and a 0.1% increase in the core data. Larger than expected increases will most likely lead to noticeable upward changes to mortgage rates Wednesday.

May's Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) will be posted late Thursday morning. The Conference Board, who is a New York-based business research group, will post this data. It attempts to predict economic activity over the next three to six months. If it shows rapidly rising levels of activity, bond prices will probably drop, pushing mortgage rates higher Thursday morning. But, a weaker than expected reading could lead to lower mortgage pricing. It is expected to show a 0.9% increase.

Overall, look for Tuesday to be the big day of the week. Not just because it brings the release of three of the five reports, but also because it brings us the PPI that is considered to be a key inflation reading. Wednesday is also very important with the CPI being posted, so look for the most movement in rates during the middle part of the week.

If I we re considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers. 

Housing foreclosures for the month of May are down, but if the overall rate continues, 1.8 million homeowners will have lost their homes in the first six months of 2009. CNBC's Diana Olick reports.

April marks the third month in a row that pending home sales have increased, as buyers respond to favorable housing and market conditions. CNBC's Diana Olick reports.

The number of all past-due home loans in the U.S. reached a record high in the first quarter of 2009, despite aggressive programs to modify mortgages. CNBC's Diana Olick reports.

Weekly Rate Lock Advisory

This week brings us the release of a couple important pieces of economic data in addition to some moderately important reports. The first data is April's Personal Income and Outlays data at 8:30 AM Monday. This report gives us an indication of consumer ability to spend and current spending habits. An increase in income means that consumers have more money available to spend. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, this data can cause movement in the financial markets and mortgage rates. Current forecasts are showing a 0.2% decline in income and spending. Weaker readings would be considered good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index will be posted late Monday morning. This highly important index measures manufacturer sentiment. A reading below 50 means that more surveyed manufacturing executives felt that business worsened during the month than those who felt it had improved. Analysts are expecting to see a 42.0 reading in this month's release, meaning that sentiment strengthened slightly during May. A smaller reading will be good news for the bond market and mortgage shoppers while an unexpected increase could contribute to higher mortgage rates tomorrow.

There is no relevant data due to be posted Tuesday, but Wednesday has two reports scheduled for release. The first and possibly the only relevant news is the Commerce Department's release of April's Factory Orders data late morning. This manufacturing sector report is similar to last week's Durable Goods Orders release, but also includes orders for non-durable goods. It can cause some movement in the financial markets if it varies from forecasts by a wide margin, but it isn't expected to cause much change in rates this month. Current forecasts are expecting to see an increase in orders of 0.3%.

The second report of the day may have a noticeable impact on the markets or be a non-factor depending on its results. The Institute for Supply Management will release its services index late Wednesday morning. It is expected to show a reading of 45.0, with the same principals as Monday's manufacturing index. If this reading varies greatly from forecasts, we may see volatility in the markets and mortgage rates. However, if its results are in the general area of expectations, it will likely have no influence on the markets and mortgage pricing.

The revised 1st Quarter Productivity and Costs report will be released Thursday morning. This data measures employee output and employer costs for wages and benefits. It is considered to be a measurement of wage inflation. It is believed that the economy can grow with low inflationary pressures when productivity is high. Last month's preliminary reading revealed a 0.8% rate, but I don't think this piece of data will have much of an impact on the bond market or mortgage pricing unless i t varies greatly from its forecasted revised reading of 1.2%.

Friday's sole report is arguably the single most important report that we see each month. The Labor Department will post May's Employment data early Friday morning. This report gives us key employment readings such as the U.S. unemployment rate and the number of jobs added or lost during the month. Analysts are expecting to see the unemployment rate climb to 9.2% with approximately 550,000 jobs lost during the month. A higher than expected increase in the unemployment rate and a larger drop in payrolls would be great news for the bond market. It would probably create a sizable rally in bonds, leading to lower mortgage rates Friday. However, stronger than expected numbers may lead to a spike in mortgage rates Friday.

Overall, tomorrow or Friday are likely to be the most important days of the week as they bring us the two most important reports on the agenda. If they give us weaker than expect ed results, we will probably close the week with lower mortgage rates than tomorrow's opening levels. However, if we see stronger than expected readings in those two releases, I expect mortgage rates to move higher on the week.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.