Daily Mortgage Rate Commentary Archive

Mon, 7:12 PM

Mortgage Rates Lowest Since May 1st - Mon, 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 ...

Mon, June 9, 7:38 PM

Mortgage Rates a Hair Lower to Start The Week - Mon, June 9, 7:38 PM

As hoped, Friday's big rate spike did not carry additional momentum into the new week. This is occasionally a risk when rates are responding to big surprise in the jobs report, but slightly...

Fri, June 6, 7:13 PM

Mortgage Rates Jump Back Toward 7% After Jobs Report - Fri, June 6, 7:13 PM

Mortgage rates have enjoyed a nice run since May 21st, with the MND Index (average top tier 30yr fixed scenarios) falling from a recent peak of 7.08% to this week's low of 6.87%. As recently as ...

Thu, June 5, 7:37 PM

Mortgage Rates Little Changed, But Friday Could See a Bigger Move - Thu, June 5, 7:37 PM

Mortgage rates began the day perfectly in line with yesterday's latest levels for the average lender. By the afternoon, the underlying bond market had lost enough ground that a handful of lender...

Wed, June 4, 8:32 PM

Biggest Daily Drop For Mortgage Rates in Over a Month - Wed, June 4, 8:32 PM

Whether or not today's drop in rates is meaningful depends on one's perspective, but in the context of recent rate movement, it's definitely noticeable. The simplest way to think about the ...

Tue, June 3, 8:02 PM

Uneventful Day For Mortgage Rates - Tue, June 3, 8:02 PM

Sometimes a Tuesday is just a Tuesday for mortgage rates . In the present week, any day is capable of generating some volatility due to one of several economic reports on the calendar.&nbs...

Mon, June 2, 8:02 PM

Mortgage Rates Edge Higher to Start Busy Week - Mon, June 2, 8:02 PM

Mortgage rates have been in an exceptionally narrow range since last Tuesday with the 30yr fixed index hovering just under 7%. The average lender is just a hair higher today versus last Fr...

Fri, May 30, 7:28 PM

Another Small Victory For Mortgage Rates - Fri, May 30, 7:28 PM

It has turned out to be a surprisingly calm week for mortgage rates and, as of today, largely a victorious one, even if the victories have been modest. Today's installment involves a 0.02...

Thu, May 29, 7:49 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Slightly Lower After Today's Data - Thu, May 29, 7:49 PM

There was a bit of behind-the-scenes volatility in the bond market today. Normally, bond volatility translates to interest rate volatility. In some cases, the timing of the volatility is su...

Wed, May 28, 8:13 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Mostly Steady - Wed, May 28, 8:13 PM

After moving moderately lower to start the new week yesterday, mortgage rates backtracked ever-so-slightly today. Top tier conventional 30yr fixed rates remain just under 7% for the avera...

Tue, May 27, 8:48 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Back Under 7% - Tue, May 27, 8:48 PM

The 30yr fixed mortgage rate index spent 3 consecutive days over 7% last week--the first time that's happened since February. Rates have generally been in a more volatile, more elevated ran...

Fri, May 23, 4:38 PM

Mortgage Rates Lower Again Today, But Still Higher on The Week - Fri, May 23, 4:38 PM

The bond market is scheduled to close 3 hour earlier than normal today--a common practice surrounding federal holiday weekends. This means 3 fewer hours where trading volatility can have an impac...

Thu, May 22, 7:20 PM

Mortgage Rates Edge Down From Recent Highs, But Remain Over 7% - Thu, May 22, 7:20 PM

Mortgage rates hit their highest level in just over 3 months yesterday with financial markets generally protesting the absence of more serious spending cuts in the spending bill. Rates car...

Wed, May 21, 7:43 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Up to 3 Month Highs - Wed, May 21, 7:43 PM

Two days ago, mortgage rates began the day at 7.04% before mid-day improvements brought the average back down to 6.99%. Today started out in a similar vein with the average lender at 7.05...

Tue, May 20, 8:32 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady Near Recent Highs - Tue, May 20, 8:32 PM

Mortgage rates ultimately managed to hold steady on Tuesday despite some underlying market volatility. Rates change day to day (and sometimes intraday) based on movement in the bond market, and ...

Mon, May 19, 7:05 PM

Mortgage Rates Briefly Over 7% Before Mid-Day Improvement - Mon, May 19, 7:05 PM

Mortgage rates jumped sharply over the weekend as financial markets reacted to Moody's credit rating downgrade of the U.S. News of the downgrade broke with only minutes left in Friday's ma...

Fri, May 16, 8:25 PM

Mortgage Rates End Week Only Slightly Higher After Decent Recovery - Fri, May 16, 8:25 PM

The average top tier 30yr fixed rate is set to end the week just a few hundredths of a percent higher than last Friday at 6.92%. That's a victory--albeit a small one--after hitting 6.99% on...

Thu, May 15, 7:36 PM

Mortgage Rates Catch a Break - Thu, May 15, 7:36 PM

Mortgage rates have done almost nothing but move higher in the month of May. The latest bump--seen yesterday--took the average top tier 30yr fixed rate to 6.99%. While this is fairly uneventful ...

Wed, May 14, 8:26 PM

Mortgage Rates Rising Closer to 7% - Wed, May 14, 8:26 PM

In early April, amid the most volatile portion of the market's reaction to the tariff announcement, mortgage rates were officially over 7% for a single day. By the middle of the following week,...

Tue, May 13, 8:26 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Fairly Steady After Inflation Data - Tue, May 13, 8:26 PM

Tuesday brought the release of an economic report that has frequently been responsible for big swings in mortgage rates . The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the earlier of the two big inflation r...

Mon, May 12, 8:32 PM

Mortgage Rates Jump to 2 Week Highs After US/China Trade Talks - Mon, May 12, 8:32 PM

Tariffs and trade policy have been a new and important consideration for the bond market for just over a month now. That matters to mortgage rates because mortgage pricing is primarily determin...

Fri, May 9, 8:30 PM

Mortgage Rates Barely Lower to End The Week - Fri, May 9, 8:30 PM

Whether it's today vs yesterday, or today vs the end of last week, the average top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rate is just a hair lower. Today's improvement was arguably a byproduct of trade rela...

Thu, May 8, 8:04 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Higher After Trade Deal - Thu, May 8, 8:04 PM

Mortgage rates moved back up to the higher levels seen earlier this week after the official announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and the U.K. Most lenders actually began the day fairl...

Wed, May 7, 7:35 PM

Mortgage Rates Lower After Fed Announcement, But Not Because of It - Wed, May 7, 7:35 PM

There's nothing like a Fed announcement day to get almost every media outlet to run headlines that attempt to tie the day's market movement to the Fed's rate decision. The problem in today's case...

Tue, May 6, 7:24 PM

Mortgage Rates Improve Slightly After Starting Out Flat - Tue, May 6, 7:24 PM

Mortgage rates were unchanged for the average lender this morning, thanks to a modest improvement in the bond market overnight. Rates were on course to remain mostly flat until the afterno...

Mon, May 5, 7:51 PM

Mortgage Rates Roughly Unchanged to Start New Week - Mon, May 5, 7:51 PM

Mortgage rates faced a slight headwind on Monday as economic data caused weakness in the bond market. This would typically result in higher mortgage rates, but in today's case, the damage was mi...

Fri, May 2, 7:22 PM

Mortgage Rates Are Actually Higher This Week - Fri, May 2, 7:22 PM

Mortgage rates had a nice little run, moving down from last Monday's highs of 6.98% (average, top tier 30yr fixed) to a mid-week low just over 6.80%. Even after yesterday's modest bounce, ...

Thu, May 1, 7:32 PM

Rates Pull Back Slightly After Stronger Economic Data - Thu, May 1, 7:32 PM

After enjoying a calm, steady winning streak so far this week, mortgage rates finally experienced a bump back toward slightly higher levels on Thursday. The move followed the release of a close...

Wed, April 30, 8:19 PM

Another Small Victory For Mortgage Rates - Wed, April 30, 8:19 PM

Mortgage rates continue enjoying a completely different volatility regime compared to just a few weeks ago. Back then, it wasn't a surprise to see the top tier average rate move by more th...

Tue, April 29, 7:25 PM

Friendly, Stable Trend Continues For Mortgage Rates - Tue, April 29, 7:25 PM

It's now been more than a week since mortgage rates ended the day higher than the previous day. And we haven't recovered quite as much lost ground as 10yr Treasury yields, we're getting p...

Mon, April 28, 7:36 PM

Mortgage Rates Start New Week Slightly Lower - Mon, April 28, 7:36 PM

Mortgage rates ended last week at the lowest levels since April 7th. The average lender remained at those same levels at the start of business today, but many lenders offered modest improv...

Fri, April 25, 8:06 PM

Lowest Mortgage Rates in Nearly 3 Weeks - Fri, April 25, 8:06 PM

The news on mortgage rates has been frustratingly mixed recently, depending on the source. This is a factor of the various time frames and methodologies employed by different purveyors of rate ...

Thu, April 24, 7:47 PM

Mortgage Rates Continue Lower - Thu, April 24, 7:47 PM

Mortgage rates continue the slow, bumpy process of healing from the rapid rise seen 2 weeks ago. Last week was a solid victory in that sense with rates moving steadily and meaningfully lower wit...

Wed, April 23, 8:12 PM

Mortgage Rates Pulled in Two Directions, But End Day Lower - Wed, April 23, 8:12 PM

Mortgage rates are an extension of the financial market, so it's no surprise that they've been more volatile than normal over the past few weeks as markets react to fiscal headlines. The latest ...

Tue, April 22, 7:31 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Almost Perfectly Steady - Tue, April 22, 7:31 PM

In not so many words, last week's thesis was that "no news was good news" for mortgage rates . Specifically, an absence of major, unexpected developments on the topic of tariffs and trade ...

Mon, April 21, 8:29 PM

Mortgage Rates Jump Back Toward 7% - Mon, April 21, 8:29 PM

Last week was a hopeful one for interest rates . The average top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rate fell more than 0.20% from the previous week's highs as underlying markets took some solace in...

Thu, April 17, 6:35 PM

Mortgage Rates Edge Higher Today, But Lower on The Week - Thu, April 17, 6:35 PM

Mortgage rates managed to make a nice amount of progress this week after hitting the highest levels in roughly 2 months last Friday. The first 2 days of the week brought the most meaningful impr...

Wed, April 16, 7:29 PM

Mortgage Rates Extend Winning Streak as Familiar Pattern Returns - Wed, April 16, 7:29 PM

As markets digested implications of several fiscal policy changes over the past 2 months, a predictable trading pattern emerged. Stocks and interest rates moved lower together. This isn't alway...

Tue, April 15, 7:50 PM

Mortgage Rates Continue Lower Amid Calmer Financial Markets - Tue, April 15, 7:50 PM

Financial markets experienced relatively extreme volatility on several occasions following the April 2nd tariff announcements. The bonds that underlie mortgage rates were no exception, thus pus...

Mon, April 14, 7:18 PM

Mortgage Rates Fall Back Below 7% - Mon, April 14, 7:18 PM

Last Friday was notable in that it was the first day since February 19th where the average top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rate ended the day over 7%. Last week was also notable for ranking among th...

Fri, April 11, 8:16 PM

Mortgage Rates Jump Back Above 7% - Fri, April 11, 8:16 PM

It has undoubtedly been an extremely volatile week for financial markets and that includes the U.S. bond market to be sure. As an example, the poster child for the U.S. bond market, the 10y...

Thu, April 10, 7:50 PM

Mortgage Rates Are Actually MUCH Higher This Week - Thu, April 10, 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...