Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. "The housing market is getting a boost with mortgage rates hovering at or near record lows. For instance, existing home sales averaged an annualized pace of 4.94 million over the first three months of this year, the most since the fourth quarter of 2009. More impressively, new home sales topped 424,000 during the first quarter, which was the strongest since the third quarter of 2008. The sales pickup is helping to support house-price gains. For instance, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that February marked the thirteenth consecutive month that it has recorded an annual rise in its U.S. house price index, which rose by 7.1 percent in the twelve months through February, the most since May 2006. Even with these gains, this U.S. index is still 13.6 percent below its peak set in April 2007."

This week will be very busy with regards to major economic news. The Fed will be meeting Wednesday. From this meeting Investors will be looking for updates on the state of the economy and hints about the future bond buying program. Next on the agenda is the ECB meeting scheduled for Thursday. Many investors anticipate the ECB to announce a rate cut or a new stimulus program. The most important economic report this week will be the Employment data released on Friday. As always, this data shows the number of jobs, the Unemployment Rate, and wage inflation. This is the most highly anticipated economic data of the month. Prior to the employment data, the schedule will be packed with ISM Manufacturing, Core PCE inflation, Pending Home Sales, and many other reports throughout the week.

With Florida mortgage rates still at very low levels, the Florida home market is beginning to heat up. Now is the best time to meet with your Florida mortgage professional to discuss a mortgage solution to meet your financial goals.