Last month, employment gains were stronger than expected. In fact, with an increase of 222,000 hires in June experts now say the economy is at full employment. According to Zillow, this sudden jump may be due to the high number of recent graduates.

“June has historically seen relatively strong employment gains, as recent college grads land their first jobs,” reports Svenja Gudell, Chief Economist of Zillow. “In contrast to many of their older siblings who graduated into the Great Recession a decade ago, much of the class of 2017 likely already had jobs lined up well before graduation, and are starting to collect their first paychecks.”

This is a great gain for the housing market, according to realtor.com’s Senior Economist, Joseph Kirchner. “This is good news for the housing market in many ways, since people have jobs and income and there is little chance of inflation or slipping into another recession in the near future,” he stated.

In addition to strong employment gains, wages increased four cents last month while mortgage interest rates remained lower than usual—but take advantage of these low rates while you can. Experts predict another rate hike soon.

“We will find out what Fed Chair Janet Yellen thinks of this next week, during her semi-annual congressional testimony,” says Paul Ashworth, Chief Economist at Capital Economics. “Our view is that, despite the lack of pick-up in wage growth and core inflation, the Fed will nevertheless push ahead with hiking interest rates.”

In order to lock in the lowest possible rate, it’s important to be proactive in the housing market. Stay up-to-date with today’s mortgage industry by subscribing to our blog. For more information about current interest rates, or to learn more about home financing, contact one of our mortgage specialists today.