Volatility

Mortgage Rates Start Lower, But Could See Some Volatility This Week

Mortgage rates have been fairly flat in the bigger picture, but each passing day continues to bring small scale movements. This is almost always the case, even if rate quotes don’t seem to be changing. One key reason for this is the difference between “note rate” and “effective rate.” The former is the rate that […]

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Mortgage Application Volume at Three-Month Low; Rates Steady But Volatility Could Return

Mortgage applications declined by the largest margin in three months during the week ended October 1. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage application volume, decreased 6.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. It was the biggest decline since an identical loss during the week […]

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Rates at 3-Week Highs, More Volatility Ahead

Rates were excellent at the beginning of the week, but that began to change on Wednesday. We were already well on our way to 3-week highs on Thursday, and Friday made it official. Notably, these 3-week highs are still historically low. Friday’s main source of drama was the strong jobs report from the Labor Department. […]

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Bonds Move to Sidelines Ahead of Jobs Report; Rate Volatility Risks; Census Bureau on Home Features

Mortgage rates were higher again today with multiple lenders making additional upward adjustments in the middle of the day in response to bond market volatility. The prices/yields of certain bonds are the primary building blocks for lenders as they determine where to set mortgage rates every day. Bonds respond to a variety of inputs, with […]

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The Real Story Behind The Past 2 Weeks of Mortgage Rate Volatility

It was easy to get lulled into complacency by the second half of 2020 when it came to mortgage rates. Even as other indicators said rates should be rising, they continued on a calm journey to multiple record lows. 2021 has been very different so far! Covid and its impacts on the economy remain the […]

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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 […]

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Rates Remain Steady as Market Volatility Dies Down

After rising at a medium-quick pace to begin the week, the past 3 days have been much calmer by comparison for mortgage rates . Today was the best example of that stability with the average lender effectively unchanged from yesterday’s latest levels. In addition, there were fewer mid-day price changes among lenders than on any […]

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