Daily Mortgage Rate Commentary Archive

Wed, 6:57 PM

Mortgage Rates Barely Budge - Wed, 6:57 PM

For the 11th straight business day, mortgage rates are very close to the levels from the end of the previous day. Over the past week, however, most of these small day-to-day movements hav...

Tue, 7:32 PM

Mortgage Rates Little Changed From Monday - Tue, 7:32 PM

Mortgage rates are based on bonds and bonds, and bonds have some seasonality to them. This doesn't necessarily mean there's a reliable seasonal pattern for the direction of rate movement.&...

Mon, 7:39 PM

Rates Trickle to Another Higher Low - Mon, 7:39 PM

Mortgage rates are as high as they've been on almost any other day this month. You'd have to go back to August 1st to see anything higher. On the other hand, rates are still noticeab...

Fri, August 15, 6:17 PM

Highest Rates This Week, But Close Enough to Long Term Lows - Fri, August 15, 6:17 PM

Friday proved to be the weakest day of the week for the underlying bond market and, thus, the highest day of the week for mortgage rates . Retail sales data was generally stronger than expected,...

Thu, August 14, 5:08 PM

Mortgage Rates Mostly Steady Despite Some Market Volatility - Thu, August 14, 5:08 PM

Mortgage rates hit fresh long term lows yesterday with the average top tier 30yr fixed rate at the best levels since October 3rd, 2024. There wasn't anything exceptional about the movement...

Wed, August 13, 5:34 PM

Mortgage Rates Hit New 10 Month Lows - Wed, August 13, 5:34 PM

October 3rd, 2024 continues to be the day to beat when it comes to mortgage rates hanging out at 10 month lows. Today's top tier 30yr fixed rate matched October 4th levels for the first time si...

Tue, August 12, 7:50 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady After Key Inflation Report - Tue, August 12, 7:50 PM

Pundits, politicians, and everyone else can continue to assume that mortgage rates will respond to changes to the Fed Funds Rate. Meanwhile the bonds that actually dictate mortgage pricing will...

Mon, August 11, 6:58 PM

Mortgage Rates Steady Ahead of High Stakes Inflation Report - Mon, August 11, 6:58 PM

The average top tier 30yr fixed rate held exceptionally steady last week after moving just a bit lower over the weekend. By comparison, today's rates are much closer to Friday's latest levels and...

Fri, August 8, 5:57 PM

Mortgage Rates Flat Ahead of Next Week’s High-Stakes Data - Fri, August 8, 5:57 PM

Mortgage rates finally moved in a slightly more noticeable direction today, but the change was still inconsequential in the bigger picture. The average 30yr fixed rate in our index edged up a me...

Thu, August 7, 7:54 PM

Mortgage Rates Hit Another New Longer-Term Low - Thu, August 7, 7:54 PM

Mortgage rates have barely budged after Monday with the day-over-day change failing to exceed 0.02% on any given day. But today's budging happened to bring the average 30yr fixed rate to another...

Wed, August 6, 7:31 PM

Mortgage Rates Steadily Holding Longer-Term Lows - Wed, August 6, 7:31 PM

Although there were flashes of potential volatility in the underlying bond market at times today, mortgage rates made it through unscathed. In other words, the volatility wasn't sufficien...

Tue, August 5, 7:50 PM

Mortgage Rates Holding at 10 Month Lows - Tue, August 5, 7:50 PM

Yesterday saw the average 30yr fixed rate fall back in line with levels from early October, 2024. This happened for two reasons. The broader, underlying reason is that rates have been in a fairly...

Mon, August 4, 8:09 PM

Lowest Mortgage Rates Since Early October - Mon, August 4, 8:09 PM

Mortgage rates are driven by movement in the bond market and bonds take cues from economic data, among other things. The monthly jobs report is routinely the most closely watched economic report...

Fri, August 1, 7:36 PM

Mortgage Rates Instantly Drop to 4 Month Lows After Jobs Report - Fri, August 1, 7:36 PM

Every month, we offer the same old warning/reminder ahead of the big jobs report--something to the effect of "no other economic report has as much power to cause volatility in rates, for better o...

Thu, July 31, 7:51 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Near July Lows Ahead of Jobs Report - Thu, July 31, 7:51 PM

Mortgage rates went to bed last night knowing that the bond market would need to improve in the morning in order for prevailing levels to be maintained. In other words, bonds had begun losing gr...

Wed, July 30, 7:49 PM

Mortgage Rates Sideways to Slightly Lower - Wed, July 30, 7:49 PM

Wednesday brought another incremental increase in the level and importance of the calendar events with the power to create volatility for rates. Some of the events were economic reports out earli...

Tue, July 29, 7:43 PM

Mortgage Rates Moving Down Again - Tue, July 29, 7:43 PM

After three straight days at exactly the same level, average 30yr fixed rates began to move lower again on Tuesday. It should immediately be clarified that the word "began" implies a certain like...

Mon, July 28, 7:15 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Perfectly Flat to Start New Week - Mon, July 28, 7:15 PM

If any given week of movement in the mortgage rate world came with disclaimer, this one would be: "Warning. An absence of volatility on Monday has no bearing on odds for volatility in the rest of...

Fri, July 25, 8:16 PM

Mortgage Rates End Week Unchanged. Next Week, Probably Not... - Fri, July 25, 8:16 PM

It's no great secret that the outgoing week didn't offer much in terms of hotly anticipated events with the power to make or break momentum in the rate market. But as it happened, there was...

Thu, July 24, 7:41 PM

Mortgage Rates Drift Slightly Higher Again - Thu, July 24, 7:41 PM

After falling for 5 straight days leading into Tuesday, mortgage rates have now moved slightly higher on each of the past two days. As was the case with the improvement, the bounce back has bee...

Wed, July 23, 7:22 PM

Mortgage Rates Tick Higher, But Just Barely - Wed, July 23, 7:22 PM

It's been a pretty good run for mortgage rates since hitting their most recent highs last Tuesday. Each subsequent day saw a modest improvement. That winning streak finally ended today, but jus...

Tue, July 22, 7:25 PM

Mortgage Rates Inch Down to 2-Week Lows - Tue, July 22, 7:25 PM

Last week, we got a sneak preview of how the market would react to Fed Chair Powell ending his term early. In a nutshell, only the shortest-term rates would improve while most consumer rates woul...

Mon, July 21, 7:57 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Slightly Lower to Start New Week - Mon, July 21, 7:57 PM

Mortgage rates didn't move much on Monday, but they moved in the right direction with the average lender 0.03% lower for a top tier 30yr fixed scenario versus last Friday. That makes this ...

Fri, July 18, 9:10 PM

Mortgage Rates Barely Budge Today and This Week - Fri, July 18, 9:10 PM

While any rate watcher's bingo card should always have a few squares devoted to "unchanged, flat, etc.," this week's had at least as many squares reserved for a big reaction to inflation data.&nb...

Thu, July 17, 6:51 PM

Mortgage Rates Staying Broadly Sideways - Thu, July 17, 6:51 PM

Despite all of the economic data and news headlines over the past few days, mortgage rates have barely budged since last Friday. That was not what we expected this week given the anticipation f...

Wed, July 16, 7:06 PM

Mortgage Rates Mostly Sideways After Dodging Mid-Day Drama - Wed, July 16, 7:06 PM

This morning brought another inflation report. Given the negative reaction to yesterday's inflation data, there was some cause for concern. Thankfully, today's data was more unequivocally accepta...

Tue, July 15, 7:06 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Higher Despite Decent Inflation Reading - Tue, July 15, 7:06 PM

Mortgage rates are based on bonds and bonds don't like inflation. When inflation reports are higher than the market expected, rates tend to rise, all other things being equal. ...

Mon, July 14, 6:59 PM

Mortgage Rates Just a Hair Higher Ahead of Important Inflation Report - Mon, July 14, 6:59 PM

Today's movement in mortgage rates , in and of itself, is barely worth mentioning. The average lender remains close enough to Friday's levels but is technically just a hair higher. T...

Fri, July 11, 5:45 PM

Highest Mortgage Rates of The Week, Just Barely - Fri, July 11, 5:45 PM

Yesterday, we characterized the prevailing mortgage rate momentum as "broadly sideways," and while that's still very true in the bigger picture, words like "up" and "higher" might need to be spri...

Thu, July 10, 8:49 PM

Mortgage Rates Broadly Sideways - Thu, July 10, 8:49 PM

Most of this week's mortgage rate movement has been an aftershock following last week's jobs report. That data sent rates quickly higher and that momentum has gradually faded over the past few da...

Wed, July 9, 7:35 PM

Mortgage Rate Losing Streak Ends With Moderate Victory - Wed, July 9, 7:35 PM

It's a bit of a stretch to refer to the past week as a "losing streak" for mortgage rates . The worst part about it was the consistency of upward movement starting last Wednesday. In terms of th...

Tue, July 8, 7:26 PM

Mortgage Rates Still Lower Than May/June Despite Drifting Higher - Tue, July 8, 7:26 PM

Bad news first: mortgage rates have been moving steadily higher in July with the average top tier 30yr fixed scenario rising from 6.67% to 6.81% in just 4 business days. This isn't an inc...

Mon, July 7, 7:13 PM

Mortgage Rates Continue Higher For Third Straight Day - Mon, July 7, 7:13 PM

For the entire 2nd half of June, it was easy to be spoiled by the absence of volatility in mortgage rates . During that time, rates were either lower or unchanged every single day. The past few ...

Thu, July 3, 6:56 PM

Mortgage Rates Rose Less Than Expected After Employment Data - Thu, July 3, 6:56 PM

Today brought the hotly anticipated jobs report. This is the "official" job count and unemployment rate data for the U.S. and no other report has as much consistent power to cause volatilit...

Wed, July 2, 6:53 PM

Rates Finally Rise Ahead of Jobs Report - Wed, July 2, 6:53 PM

Mortgage rates have generally been falling since May 21st and have done nothing but move lower for more than 2 weeks. That winning streak finally came to an end today with the average lend...

Tue, July 1, 7:09 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady at 3 Month Lows - Tue, July 1, 7:09 PM

It's been 88 days since the average 30yr fixed mortgage rate was as low as it is today--close enough to 3 months. Some lenders may be higher or lower than they were yesterday depending on w...

Mon, June 30, 7:28 PM

Mortgage Rates Take Another Step Toward April Lows - Mon, June 30, 7:28 PM

April 3rd and 4th saw the average top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rates well into the "mid 6's." Many lenders were able to quote 6.5% at the time. Just a few days ago, we noted there w...

Fri, June 27, 5:16 PM

Mortgage Rates Not Too Far From 8 Month Lows - Fri, June 27, 5:16 PM

Friday's mortgage rates ended up being right in line with Thursday's on average. At 6.72%, the MND daily rate index is as low as it's been since early April when it hit 6.60%. If you're...

Thu, June 26, 7:02 PM

Mortgage Rate Winning Streak Continues - Thu, June 26, 7:02 PM

After topping out on May 21st, the average day for mortgage rates has been a good one. This has been especially true since June 6th with our 30yr fixed index moving down almost 0.25% thro...

Wed, June 25, 7:21 PM

Lowest Rates in Over 2 Months - Wed, June 25, 7:21 PM

The average top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rate had already dipped to the lowest levels since May 1st at the start of the week. Two additional days of modest improvement brings us to the lowe...

Tue, June 24, 6:37 PM

Mortgage Rates Lowest Since April - Tue, June 24, 6:37 PM

Yesterday saw mortgage rates fall to the best levels since early May. Now, today, we'd have to go all the way back to the end of April to find anything lower. Are the changes massiv...

Mon, June 23, 7:12 PM

Mortgage Rates Lowest Since May 1st - Mon, June 23, 7:12 PM

Mortgage rates ended the previous week roughly in line with the best levels since May 1st. Today's modest improvement made it official. Mortgage rates are primarily a function of t...

Fri, June 20, 5:07 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady - Fri, June 20, 5:07 PM

With Thursday being a federal holiday, banks (and more importantly, the underlying market for mortgage related bonds) were closed. This means that lenders were not able to update mortgage ...

Wed, June 18, 8:17 PM

Remarkable Absence of Mortgage Rate Volatility - Wed, June 18, 8:17 PM

It happens, but it's rare. A Fed "dot plot" day has come and gone with mortgage rates almost perfectly unchanged from the previous day. This speaks to the level of indecision not only in the ma...

Tue, June 17, 7:19 PM

Mortgage Rates Slightly Lower Ahead of Fed Day - Tue, June 17, 7:19 PM

Mortgage rates continue operating in a narrow range with almost every day of the past two months falling between 6.8 and 7.0% for a top tier 30yr fixed scenario. Today's average rate fell 0.03 a...

Mon, June 16, 7:53 PM

Mortgage Rates Drift Slightly Higher to Start The Week - Mon, June 16, 7:53 PM

While there's been no shortage of political and geopolitical headlines over the past 2 business days, there hasn't been much by way of inspiration for the bond market. Bonds (and, thus, rates) ha...

Fri, June 13, 7:11 PM

Mortgage Rates Bounce But Remain Lower on The Week - Fri, June 13, 7:11 PM

The top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rate index rose 0.04% on Friday, which would be a medium-sized defeat in and of itself. In the broader context, however, it was an acceptable adjustment on what h...

Thu, June 12, 7:50 PM

Lowest Mortgage Rates in More Than a Month - Thu, June 12, 7:50 PM

Mortgage rates being offered today are only a hair lower for the average lender than they were on June 4th, but June 4th was the best day since early May. In other words, today's average r...

Wed, June 11, 7:48 PM

Mortgage Rates Fall as Inflation Data Comes in Soft - Wed, June 11, 7:48 PM

After a calm start to the week on Monday and Tuesday, we were likely to see a bit more volatility on Wednesday due to important events on the calendar. The first was the morning's release of the ...

Tue, June 10, 7:37 PM

Mortgage Rates Inch Slightly Lower - Tue, June 10, 7:37 PM

It was a fairly boring day on what has turned out to be a fairly boring week so far for mortgage rates . After Friday's larger spike, we've seen a microscopic recovery on each of the past ...

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