Daily Mortgage Rate Commentary Archive

Today, 7:57 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady in Tight Range - Today, 7:57 PM

Mortgage rates have been in a very narrow range for nearly 3 weeks with the last major move seen on September 17th and 18th following the Fed rate cut. Paradoxically but not surprisingly, rates ...

Mon, 8:23 PM

Mortgage Rates Start The Week Near Recent Highs - Mon, 8:23 PM

Mortgage rates began the week right in line with their highest levels of the past 30 days. This sounds a bit more dramatic than it is because the past 2.5 weeks have been very narrow and t...

Fri, October 3, 7:51 PM

Mortgage Rates Lowest Since Fed Day - Fri, October 3, 7:51 PM

Mortgage rates moved just a bit lower today. Relative to any other day in the past 2 weeks, it was unremarkable. But because the range has been so narrow over that time, and because rates ...

Thu, October 2, 7:16 PM

Mortgage Rates Technically Lower, But Effectively Flat - Thu, October 2, 7:16 PM

If we're splitting hairs, today's mortgage rates are half a hair lower than yesterday's, but the average borrower might not see a difference in a rate quote. Our 30yr fixed rate index fell by t...

Wed, October 1, 7:16 PM

Mortgage Rates Remain Unchanged After Downbeat Employment Report - Wed, October 1, 7:16 PM

Mortgage rates are based on bonds and bonds take cues from economic data. Employment-related data is particularly important. The monthly jobs report from the Department of Labor is in a league o...

Tue, September 30, 7:08 PM

Mortgage Rates Continue Holding Narrow Range - Tue, September 30, 7:08 PM

Mortgage rates were just barely lower this morning versus yesterday's latest levels, but most borrowers won't see any major difference from any of the past 7 business days. Additionally, some le...

Mon, September 29, 7:55 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Flat to Start New Week - Mon, September 29, 7:55 PM

It was an uneventful day for the bond market (and, thus, interest rates ) as investors wait for clarity on this week's potential government shutdown. It's not the shutdown itself that would nota...

Fri, September 26, 7:54 PM

Mortgage Rates End Week as it Began - Fri, September 26, 7:54 PM

Last week was a wild one for mortgage rates with the lowest levels in nearly a year on Monday and an abrupt spike after Wednesday's Fed announcement. The present week has been completely ...

Thu, September 25, 6:47 PM

Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher After Upbeat Economic Reports - Thu, September 25, 6:47 PM

Thursday was the first day of the week with any meaningful economic reports. This is important to mortgage rates because economic data influences the bonds that determine day-to-day changes in ...

Wed, September 24, 7:41 PM

Mortgage Rates Fairly Flat Despite Bond Market Volatility - Wed, September 24, 7:41 PM

Over time, mortgage rate movement lines up almost perfectly with movement in the underlying bond market, but there can be day to day discrepancies depending on the timing of market volatility. ...

Tue, September 23, 7:19 PM

Mortgage Rates Little Changed on Tuesday - Tue, September 23, 7:19 PM

Mortgage rates are based on bonds and bonds take their most important cues from big ticket economic reports. But such reports have been in short supply so far this week. Instead, the market has ...

Mon, September 22, 7:12 PM

Mortgage Rates Roughly Unchanged to Start New Week - Mon, September 22, 7:12 PM

After hitting the lowest levels in nearly a year (and nearly the lowest levels in 3 years) last Tuesday, rates lurched higher following Wednesday's Fed announcement. While the Fed cut rates...

Fri, September 19, 7:35 PM

Mortgage Rates Finally Level Off After 2-Day Rout - Fri, September 19, 7:35 PM

Officially, our daily mortgage rate index is a hair lower today than it was yesterday. Your mileage may vary depending on the lender in question. Reason being: some lenders offered mid-day improv...

Thu, September 18, 7:40 PM

If You're One of Those People Asking How Much Lower Your Mortgage Rate Quote is After Fed Day, This is Required Reading - Thu, September 18, 7:40 PM

It's day two of mortgage rates surging higher--now back to the highest levels in 2 weeks (the day before the September 5th jobs report). The juxtaposition of yesterday's Fed rate cut and the su...

Wed, September 17, 7:53 PM

Mortgage Rates HIGHER (Not Lower) After Fed Rate Cut - Wed, September 17, 7:53 PM

Several things happen on Fed Day--especially on the 4 out of 8 examples with updated rate forecasts from Fed members. The official announcement of a rate cut is typically the least importan...

Tue, September 16, 7:18 PM

Mortgage Rates Near 3 Year Lows Ahead of Fed - Tue, September 16, 7:18 PM

Mortgage rates dropped sharply lower today relative to the amount of movement in the underlying bond market with the average lender right in line with the lowest levels since late 2022. Because ...

Mon, September 15, 7:12 PM

Mortgage Rates Start Week at Another Long-Term Low - Mon, September 15, 7:12 PM

Mortgage rates have done almost nothing but move lower over the past 4 months. The first Fridays in August and September account for about half of the total drop thanks to weaker results in the ...

Fri, September 12, 7:20 PM

Mortgage Rates Were Flat All Week No Matter What Other News Suggests - Fri, September 12, 7:20 PM

The underlying bond market (which dictates the rates offered by mortgage lenders) weakened moderately overnight. Weaker bonds equate to higher rates, all else equal. "Higher ra...

Thu, September 11, 7:51 PM

Mortgage Rates Move Back to Long-Term Lows - Thu, September 11, 7:51 PM

Today's inflation report (the Consumer Price Index or CPI) certainly had a chance to create volatility for rates, but things ended up staying fairly calm. There are multiple subheadings o...

Wed, September 10, 8:02 PM

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady With Help From Econ Data - Wed, September 10, 8:02 PM

Wednesday brought the first of this week's two key inflation reports. While the Producer Price Index (PPI) is the lesser of the two in terms of potential impact on rates, it came in far enough be...

Tue, September 9, 7:19 PM

Mortgage Rates Finally Tick Slightly Higher - Tue, September 9, 7:19 PM

It had to happen at some point. After spending 4 straight days of setting new 11-month lows, mortgage rates finally moved higher today, but the headline is much scarier than reality. In fact,...

Mon, September 8, 7:34 PM

Another 11-Month Low For Rates, But Just Barely - Mon, September 8, 7:34 PM

To their credit, most mortgage lenders did an admirable job of aggressively pricing-in the bond market rally after last Friday's jobs report. Many mortgage market pros repeat the phrase "stairs d...

Fri, September 5, 3:51 PM

Mortgage Rates Plummet Back to Fall 2024 Levels - Fri, September 5, 3:51 PM

It's a well-known fact that the monthly jobs report is more capable of causing big reactions in rates than any other economic data. It happened last month in grand fashion, and it is happening ag...

Thu, September 4, 7:22 PM

Mortgage Rates Hit Another 2025 Low Ahead of a Potentially Volatile Friday - Thu, September 4, 7:22 PM

The jobs report is the most important scheduled event each month as far as interest rates are concerned. The last installment helped get the average 30yr fixed rate down from 6.75 to 6.50 becau...

Wed, September 3, 7:42 PM

Mortgage Rates Officially Hit 11-Month Low - Wed, September 3, 7:42 PM

October 3rd is a date that has come up many times in the past month of mortgage rate coverage. That's because there's been a veritable chasm between the rates on that day and every other day sinc...

Tue, September 2, 7:57 PM

Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher to Start September - Tue, September 2, 7:57 PM

Mortgage rates are based on bonds and bonds can do funny things on the first and last trading days of any given month. One of the most common "funny things" involves a decent amount of market mo...

Fri, August 29, 6:30 PM

Rates End Week at Best Levels; Next Week Could be Huge - Fri, August 29, 6:30 PM

It was a very slow and steady week for mortgage rates . On all 5 days, the average top tier 30yr fixed rate moved by 0.02% or less. This is a small enough change that the average borrower ...

Thu, August 28, 7:15 PM

30yr Fixed Rates Officially Back to 6.50% - Thu, August 28, 7:15 PM

There is no singular, official primary source for mortgage rate levels. The going rate is whatever can be locked/closed at any given lender. As such, we rely on surveys and data aggregations in o...

Wed, August 27, 7:44 PM

Mortgage Rates Hit Another 2025 Low - Wed, August 27, 7:44 PM

It continues to be the case that day-to-day changes in average mortgage rates are very small. Today was no exception in that regard. Nonetheless, today represents a technical "record low" for 2...

Tue, August 26, 9:15 PM

Mortgage Rates Back in Line With Long-Term Lows - Tue, August 26, 9:15 PM

Mortgage rates tend to move at least a little every day although they haven't been moving too much in the bigger picture recently. The only truly memorable move int he past few months occurred a...

Mon, August 25, 7:50 PM

Mortgage Rates Edge Slightly Higher From Long-Term Lows - Mon, August 25, 7:50 PM

After last week's Jackson Hole speech from Fed Chair Powell, rates fell to their lowest levels since October 3rd, 2024, narrowly surpassing the recent long-term low seen on August 13th. Powell ta...

Fri, August 22, 7:15 PM

Lowest Rates of The Year (Barely) After Powell Speech - Fri, August 22, 7:15 PM

Heading into the week, Fed Chair Powell's speech at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole Symposium was only event on the calendar that held much promise for motivating any major movement in mortgage ra...

Thu, August 21, 5:03 PM

Mortgage Rates Inch Higher Yet Again - Thu, August 21, 5:03 PM

In a world (like this one) where mortgage rates are dictated by bond market movement and where bonds take cues from certain economic reports, weeks like this one can be frustrating or boring.&n...

Wed, August 20, 6:57 PM

Mortgage Rates Barely Budge - Wed, August 20, 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, August 19, 7:32 PM

Mortgage Rates Little Changed From Monday - Tue, August 19, 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, August 18, 7:39 PM

Rates Trickle to Another Higher Low - Mon, August 18, 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...

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