Daily Mortgage Rate Commentary Archive

Thu, 7:50 PM

Mortgage Rates Are Actually MUCH Higher This Week - Thu, 7:50 PM

This article is not intended to report on the weekly Freddie Mac rate survey, but we'll have to reference it in order to participate in reality. To be fair, Freddie's survey is perfectly real, bu...

Wed, 8:29 PM

Wild Ride For Mortgage Rates, Should Spill Into Tomorrow Too - Wed, 8:29 PM

For anyone remotely tuned into financial news, it will come as no surprise that this has been a crazy week and today has been a crazy day. This is just as true for stocks as it is for the b...

Tue, 8:43 PM

Mortgage Rates Surge to Highest Levels Since February - Tue, 8:43 PM

While no one can be sure exactly how things will pan out in the long run, the market is currently expressing extreme disapproval of the new tariff plans. While interest rates had previous...

Mon, 9:00 PM

Worst 24 Hours For Rates So Far This Year - Mon, 9:00 PM

Tariff volatility giveth and taketh from interest rates . Up until Friday afternoon, it's been mostly "giveth-ing." In other words, the prospect of trade wars between the US and nume...

Fri, April 4, 8:29 PM

Rate Rally Reverses, But Focus on Bigger Picture - Fri, April 4, 8:29 PM

This week is ending with the average top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rate at its lowest level since early October, 2024. The only way to be disappointed about that would be to focus on the fact that...

Thu, April 3, 7:42 PM

Lowest Mortgage Rates in More Than 5 Months - Thu, April 3, 7:42 PM

Yesterday afternoon's tariff announcement sent financial markets on a ride that ultimately resulted in sharply lower stock prices and moderately lower bond yields. Stocks don't always correlate w...

Wed, April 2, 9:08 PM

Mortgage Rates Edge Slightly Higher, But Tomorrow is Anyone's Guess - Wed, April 2, 9:08 PM

Mortgage rates didn't move much today, which is pretty crazy considering the volatility present in financial markets in the afternoon. That's when the long awaited tariff announcement spee...

Tue, April 1, 7:29 PM

Lowest Mortgage Rates in Nearly a Month - Tue, April 1, 7:29 PM

While interest rates continue operating in a range that is generally flat and narrow over the past 5 weeks, it's also true that today's rates are on the lower edge of that range. Because there'...

Mon, March 31, 7:30 PM

Mortgage Rates Inch Lower, But Remain Broadly Sideways - Mon, March 31, 7:30 PM

"Sideways" has been the dominant theme for mortgage rates for well over a month now. The average top tier 30yr fixed rate fell below 6.82% on February 25th, and moved down to 6.70% the followin...

Fri, March 28, 9:34 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Lower Even Though They Weren't Supposed To - Fri, March 28, 9:34 PM

First thing's first before anyone gets too excited: yes, rates fell on Friday, but not significantly. The average lender is still a bit closer to the higher end of the recent range. In addi...

Thu, March 27, 7:26 PM

Mortgage Rates Steady to Slightly Higher - Thu, March 27, 7:26 PM

With the exception of Monday, which saw a medium-sized uptick in mortgage rates , the rest of the week has been fairly calm in terms of volatility. Unfortunately, the low-volatility movement has...

Wed, March 26, 8:58 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady Near Recent Highs - Wed, March 26, 8:58 PM

It depends what one's definition of "recent" is, but if it involves the past few weeks, mortgage rates were at their highest recent levels both yesterday and today. 2 other days in that w...

Tue, March 25, 8:02 PM

Mortgage Rates Modestly Higher on Average, But Some Lenders Are Lower - Tue, March 25, 8:02 PM

One of the key principles of mortgage rate movement has to do with the frequency of mortgage rate changes. Specifically, mortgage lenders prefer to update rates once per day. This is notabl...

Mon, March 24, 7:41 PM

Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher to Start New Week - Mon, March 24, 7:41 PM

The average mortgage lender raised rates modestly on Monday morning--a logical move considering the weakness in the bond market over the weekend. Rates are based directly on bonds. Bond "we...

Fri, March 21, 6:44 PM

Mortgage Rates Tick Gently Higher to End Week - Fri, March 21, 6:44 PM

In terms of the market movement that underlies and dictates mortgage rate movement, today looked a lot like yesterday. Things started strong and faded gently as the day progressed. There we...

Thu, March 20, 8:32 PM

Mortgage Rates Very Close to Multi-Month Lows - Thu, March 20, 8:32 PM

It was actually a rather uneventful day for the bond market. That means it should have been an uneventful day for mortgage rates (because they're driven by changes in the bond market). To be fa...

Wed, March 19, 7:52 PM

Rates Move Back Toward Lows After Fed Announcement - Wed, March 19, 7:52 PM

Heading into today, we knew the afternoon's Fed announcement was biggest potential flashpoint for interest rate movement, and that the movement probably wouldn't be extreme. The unknown, as alway...

Tue, March 18, 7:07 PM

Mortgage Rates Started Higher, But Ended Lower - Tue, March 18, 7:07 PM

As we often discuss, mortgage lenders prefer to set their rates once per day. They only make changes when the underlying bond market makes a big enough move. While it wasn't an extreme example, m...

Mon, March 17, 7:50 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady Over The Weekend - Mon, March 17, 7:50 PM

Mortgage rates are based on movement in the bond market, and the bond market is closed for most of the weekend. As such, one might assume that Monday's mortgage rates would always be right...

Fri, March 14, 7:38 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Very Steady, Yet Again - Fri, March 14, 7:38 PM

Despite some ups and downs on a small scale, mortgage rates have been sideways in the bigger picture. That's a good thing if the latest refi application data is any indication. Dema...

Thu, March 13, 7:38 PM

Mortgage Rates Recover After Starting Slightly Higher - Thu, March 13, 7:38 PM

Mortgage rates hit their highest levels in just over 2 weeks yesterday and they were on track to remain unchanged today. In fact, the average lender offered the exact same 30yr fixed rate when t...

Wed, March 12, 7:18 PM

Highest Mortgage Rates in Just Over 2 Weeks - Wed, March 12, 7:18 PM

Mortgage rates have moved up over the past 2 days, ultimately hitting the highest levels since February 24th today. While that sounds somewhat unpleasant or unfortunate, context paints a s...

Tue, March 11, 7:15 PM

Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher Ahead of Important Inflation Data - Tue, March 11, 7:15 PM

With fiscal and geopolitical developments dominating the news cycle, it would be easy to forget that interest rates prefer to take their primary cues from economic data. This is an import...

Mon, March 10, 7:02 PM

Mortgage Rates Recover Some of Last Week's Losses - Mon, March 10, 7:02 PM

Conventional 30yr fixed mortgage rates hit their lowest levels in months last Tuesday morning, with the average lender right in line with levels from mid October or early December. After that, ...

Fri, March 7, 7:47 PM

Mortgage Rates Back Near Yesterday's Levels After Starting Out Lower - Fri, March 7, 7:47 PM

The average mortgage lender was briefly able to offer noticeably lower rates this morning compared to yesterday's latest levels. Credit goes to this morning's jobs report for coming in a bit weak...

Thu, March 6, 8:18 PM

Mortgage Rates Higher For 3rd Straight Day - Thu, March 6, 8:18 PM

You may see conflicting news about mortgage rates today, depending on where you look. Weekly surveys, such as Freddie Mac's, are showing a fairly big drop from last week. That was indeed the ca...

Wed, March 5, 8:12 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Slightly Higher - Wed, March 5, 8:12 PM

It's been a great couple of weeks for mortgage rates , largely mirroring the terrible couple of weeks for the stock market. A combination of downbeat econ data and economic concerns helped push ...

Tue, March 4, 8:31 PM

Mortgage Rates Briefly Hit 4 Month Lows - Tue, March 4, 8:31 PM

Although mortgage rates are based on bonds, and although bonds are constantly on the move throughout the day, mortgage lenders prefer to set the day's rates only once. From there, if bonds make...

Mon, March 3, 8:31 PM

Mortgage Rates Roughly Unchanged Over The Weekend - Mon, March 3, 8:31 PM

Mortgage rates faced a very small threat of a very small increase this morning. The underlying bond market was in weaker territory to start the day and that typically means mortgage lenders rais...

Fri, February 28, 8:40 PM

Rates Are Getting Really Close to 4 Month Lows - Fri, February 28, 8:40 PM

After more than a week of consistent and meaningful improvement, mortgage rates finally showed us that they were at least capable of moving in the other direction yesterday. Thankfully, that de...

Thu, February 27, 8:24 PM

Mortgage Rates Finally Stop Moving Lower, But Just Barely - Thu, February 27, 8:24 PM

Stop the presses! Mortgage rates actually moved HIGHER today! While it's the first time we've been able to say such things since last Tuesday, the damage is almost imperceptible. In fact,...

Wed, February 26, 8:41 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Trickle to Another Multi-Month Low - Wed, February 26, 8:41 PM

Mortgage rates are directly connected to the bond market, and bonds can seemingly do no wrong over the past week. Specifically, demand for bonds has been strong and steady. Higher de...

Tue, February 25, 9:01 PM

Mortgage Rates Quickly Moving Toward 4 Month Lows - Tue, February 25, 9:01 PM

Over the past 4 business days, the average top tier mortgage rate has fallen by 0.22%. While that may seem like a small number, consider that mortgage rates haven't moved half as much in either...

Mon, February 24, 9:32 PM

Mortgage Rates Start New Week at 2 Month Lows - Mon, February 24, 9:32 PM

Mortgage rates were already in line with the lowest levels since December 18th by last Thursday. They dropped to the best levels since December 12th a day later. end of last week. When t...

Fri, February 21, 8:22 PM

Mortgage Rates End Week at Lowest Levels Since December 18th - Fri, February 21, 8:22 PM

Back on December 18th, rates began the day fairly close to where they ended the previous day. In the afternoon, rates surged sharply higher following the Fed announcement. Even since then, the av...

Thu, February 20, 9:00 PM

Mortgage Rates Casually Drift Back to 2 Month Lows - Thu, February 20, 9:00 PM

It was a fairly decent day for mortgage rates with the average lender returning to the lowest levels in just over 2 months. The improvement followed early morning comments from Treasury Secreta...

Wed, February 19, 8:42 PM

Mortgage Rates Unchanged After Mid-Day Changes - Wed, February 19, 8:42 PM

It was almost a mildly interesting day as rates started out slightly higher. To be fair, even that would not have been too interesting because the move was so small that most rate quotes wo...

Tue, February 18, 9:24 PM

Mortgage Rates Bounce Back Up - Tue, February 18, 9:24 PM

Mortgage lenders were unable to update their rates yesterday as the bond market was closed for the Presidents Day holiday. Three day weekends can occasionally result in extra volatility on ...

Fri, February 14, 8:20 PM

Mortgage Rates Drop to Lowest Levels Since December 17th - Fri, February 14, 8:20 PM

The final two days of the present week weren't on many bingo cards as of Wednesday afternoon. At the time, rates were jumping higher in response to inflation data. That same morning, ...

Thu, February 13, 8:21 PM

Mortgage Rates Completely Reverse Yesterday's Spike - Thu, February 13, 8:21 PM

Mortgage rates jumped quickly higher yesterday following the higher inflation reading in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Now today, rates have completely erased the move despite a similar report...

Wed, February 12, 8:36 PM

Mortgage Rates Highest in Nearly a Month After Inflation Report - Wed, February 12, 8:36 PM

Today's mortgage rate movement is very straightforward. Unfortunately, it's also marked by a straight line toward higher levels--in this case, the highest since January 14th. Incidentally...

Tue, February 11, 8:14 PM

Mortgage Rates Tick Slightly Higher. More Volatility in Store Tomorrow - Tue, February 11, 8:14 PM

Any recap of financial news headlines will likely mention Fed Chair Powell's congressional testimony today. Some efforts could even be made to link today's rate movement to various Powell c...

Mon, February 10, 8:24 PM

Mortgage Rates Microscopically Lower to Start New Week - Mon, February 10, 8:24 PM

Mortgage rates have been on a vacation from volatility since January 16th when they fell back toward 7% after hitting the highest levels since May 2024. Top tier 30yr fixed rates have operated i...

Fri, February 7, 5:55 PM

Mortgage Rates End Week Lower Despite Friday's Modest Bounce - Fri, February 7, 5:55 PM

Friday brought the release of the big jobs report which is historically more likely than any other monthly economic report to cause the biggest pops or drops. Today's installment can be filed und...

Thu, February 6, 8:20 PM

Mortgage Rates Mostly Maintain Wednesday's Strength - Thu, February 6, 8:20 PM

Yesterday was notable for being the first day in more than a week to offer any excitement for rates. More notably, that excitement was the good kind. The average lender moved back und...

Wed, February 5, 7:55 PM

Mortgage Rates Finally Make a Move (Lower) - Wed, February 5, 7:55 PM

The recent absence of volatility in day-to-day mortgage rate movement has been an easy target for light-hearted indignation among market watchers. But to be fair, if rates had been moving s...

Tue, February 4, 9:26 PM

Mortgage Rates Score Another Victory Against Excitement - Tue, February 4, 9:26 PM

If you like your mortgage rate movement boring and minimal, this week's for you (and last week, and the week before that). Going all the way back to January 17th, the average lender hasn't ...

Mon, February 3, 9:10 PM

Mortgage Rates Stay Flat Despite Underlying Market Volatility - Mon, February 3, 9:10 PM

We know that mortgage rates are driven by financial markets and we know that financial markets have experienced volatility amid the roll-out of new tariffs over the weekend. But rates are start...

Fri, January 31, 9:33 PM

Mortgage Rates Round Out Eerily Calm Week - Fri, January 31, 9:33 PM

For all of the news that seems to be highly likely to cause volatility for rates, the market reaction ended up playing out on a very small scale. The biggest day of movement was Monday, with rate...

Thu, January 30, 9:08 PM

Lowest Rates in Over a Month, But There's a Catch - Thu, January 30, 9:08 PM

Interest rates are driven by the bond market and bonds are at their best levels in over a month. As such, it's no surprise that mortgage rates are able to make a similar claim. In fact, ...

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