Rates
Why Mortgage Rates Should Care About Bond Market Warning
After spiking in early January, interest rates returned to near-all-time-low levels by the middle of the week. By the end, however, the market began to flash a warning about more volatility ahead. The warning is fairly simple. It has to do with a pattern that’s been repeating in the bond market (the key ingredient in […]
Mortgage Rates Start Strong But End Higher
Mortgage rates have had a great couple of weeks after jumping to multi-month highs at the beginning of January. By yesterday, they’d made it almost all the way back to their best recent levels. The same was true this morning, but things have changed since then. The bond market (which dictates rates) had its worst […]
Mortgage Rates Making Steady Progress Over The Past Week
Mortgage rates are off to a decent start this week with the average lender offering slightly better terms compared to last Friday. The progress actually began earlier last week. On Tuesday morning, rates were at their highest levels in exactly 2 months after jumping at a relatively quick pace in response to the Georgia senate […]
Still Cheaper to Own; Forbearance Improvement Slows; No More Record Low Rates?
In most parts of the country owning a home is more affordable than renting one according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2021 Rental Affordability Report . The company looked at the median price of a three-bedroom home in 915 U.S. counties and the rent for a comparable home and found owning more affordable 572 or 63 […]
Mortgage Rates Closing Out The Year at Record Lows
For all practical purposes, the year is over when it comes to mortgage rate volatility. True, there is some small chance that political developments conspire to push rates just a bit higher in the next two days, but the damage would be insignificant in the bigger picture. In other words, we’re looking at “all-time low […]
Home Prices Still Soaring; Rates Closing Out 2020 at Record Lows
For all practical purposes, the year is over when it comes to mortgage rate volatility. True, there is some small chance that political developments conspire to push rates just a bit higher in the next two days, but the damage would be insignificant in the bigger picture. In other words, we’re looking at “all-time low […]
Mortgage Rates Edge Higher From Long-Term Lows
Mortgage rates hit another all-time low on Friday for most lenders. Other lenders had slightly lower rates yesterday morning. Since then however, almost every lender has moved up from those lows, even if only by microscopically small amounts in the bigger picture. Purchases and refinances continue to be offered at vastly different rates. The gap […]
Mid-Month Forbearance Pattern Repeats; More On Mortgage Rates’ Ticking Clock; Freddie Adopting SOFR
There was an increase in the number of loans in forbearance over the last week as the share within all lender portfolios, even the GSEs’, moved higher. Black Knight said, however, that an uptick in mid-month has become common, generally driven by fewer borrowers exiting their plans. This was true this past week as well. […]
Mortgage Rates Well-Protected From Jobs Report Volatility
Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch Tomorrow brings the month’s most important economic report: the Employment Situation, often referred to simply as “the jobs report.” No other piece of economic data has remotely the same track record of inspiring movement in the bond market (which, in turn, inspires movement in interest rates). But not all interest […]
Rates Surprisingly Steady Despite Market Drama; Home Price Gains Break 6 yr Record
Like many industries, housing finance has a superficial layer that’s fairly easy to understand for the average consumer. A person wants a home. They don’t want to pay cash. They get a loan. Lower rates = lower payments. The end. Shortly below that superficial layer of understanding, where a surprisingly high percentage of mortgage professionals […]