Mortgage Rate Watch
A new home can be the biggest purchase of your life. Before you start looking for the right home, you may want to research your mortgage options.
But not all mortgages are created equal. So, by doing your research beforehand, you can choose the option that best suits your financial situation and potentially puts more money in your pocket. You also know what guidelines to follow when applying.
Types of mortgages
- Conventional loan – Best for borrowers with a good credit score
- Jumbo loan – Best for borrowers with excellent credit looking to buy an expensive home
- Government-insured loan – Best for borrowers who have lower credit scores and minimal cash for a down payment
- Fixed-rate mortgage – Best for borrowers who’d prefer a predictable, set monthly payment for the duration of the loan
- Adjustable-rate mortgage – Best for borrowers who aren’t planning to stay in the home for an extended period, would prefer lower payments in the short-term and are comfortable with possibly having to pay more in the future
Conventional loans, which are not backed by the federal government, come in two forms: conforming and non-conforming.
Conforming loans – As the name implies, a conforming loan “conforms” to the set of standards put in place by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which includes credit, debt and loan size. For 2023, the conforming loan limits are $726,200 in most areas and $1,089,300 in high-cost areas.
Non-conforming loans – These loans do not meet FHFA standards. Instead, they cater to borrowers looking to purchase more-expensive homes or individuals with unusual credit profiles.
- Can be used for a primary home, second home or investment property
- Overall borrowing costs tend to be lower than other types of mortgages, even if interest rates are slightly higher
- Can ask your lender to cancel private mortgage insurance (PMI) once you’ve reached 20 percent equity, or refinance to remove it
- Can pay as little as 3 percent down on loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
- Sellers can contribute to closing costs
- Minimum FICO score of 620 or higher is often required (the same applies for refinancing)
- Higher down payment than some government loans
- Must have a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of no more than 45 percent (50 percent in some instances)
- Likely need to pay PMI if your down payment is less than 20 percent of the sales price
- Significant documentation required to verify income, assets, down payment and employment
If you have a strong credit score and can afford to make a sizable down payment, a conventional mortgage is probably your best pick. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is the most popular choice for homebuyers.
Jumbo mortgages are home loan products that fall outside FHFA borrowing limits. Jumbo loans are more common in higher-cost areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and the state of Hawaii, where home prices are often on the higher end.
Pros of jumbo loans
- Can borrow more money to purchase a more expensive home
- Interest rates tend to be competitive with other conventional loans
- Often the only finance option in areas with extremely high home values
Cons of jumbo loans
- Down payment of at least 10 percent to 20 percent required in many cases
- A FICO score of 700 or higher usually required
- Cannot have a DTI ratio above 45 percent
- Must show you have significant assets in cash or savings accounts
- Usually require more in-depth documentation to qualify
Who are jumbo loans best for?
If you’re looking to finance a home with a selling price exceeding the latest conforming loan limits, a jumbo loan is likely your best route.
The U.S. government isn’t a mortgage lender, but it does play a role in making homeownership accessible to more Americans by guaranteeing certain types of loans — thus lessening the risk for lenders. Three government agencies back mortgages: the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
- FHA loans – Backed by the FHA, these home loans come with competitive interest rates, and help make homeownership possible for borrowers without a large down payment or pristine credit. You’ll need a minimum FICO score of 580 to get the FHA maximum of 96.5 percent financing with a 3.5 percent down payment. However, a score as low as 500 is allowed if you put at least 10 percent down. FHA loans require mortgage insurance premiums, which can increase the overall cost of your mortgage. Lastly, with an FHA loan, the home seller is allowed to contribute to closing costs.
- USDA loans – USDA loans help moderate- to low-income borrowers who meet certain income limits buy homes in rural, USDA-eligible areas. Some USDA loans do not require a down payment for eligible borrowers. There are extra fees, though, including an upfront fee of 1 percent of the loan amount (which can typically be financed with the loan) and an annual fee.
- VA loans – VA loans provide flexible, low-interest mortgages for members of the U.S. military (active duty and veterans) and their families. There’s no minimum down payment, mortgage insurance or credit score requirement, and closing costs are generally capped and may be paid by the seller. VA loans charge a funding fee, a percentage of the loan amount, which can be paid upfront at closing or rolled into the cost of the loan along with other closing costs.
Pros of government-insured loans
- Help you finance a home when you don’t qualify for a conventional loan
- Credit requirements more relaxed
- Don’t need a large down payment
- Available to repeat and first-time buyers
- No mortgage insurance and no down payment required for VA loans
Cons of government-insured loans
- Mandatory mortgage insurance premiums on FHA loans that usually cannot be canceled
- FHA loan sizes are lower than conventional mortgages in most areas, limiting potential inventory to choose from
- Borrower must live in the property (although you may be able to finance a multi-unit building and rent out other units)
- Could have higher overall borrowing costs
- Expect to provide more documentation, depending on the loan type, to prove eligibility
Who are government-insured loans best for?
Are you having trouble qualifying for a conventional loan due to a lower credit score or minimal cash reserves for a down payment? FHA-backed and USDA-backed loans could be a viable option. For military service members, veterans and eligible spouses, VA-backed loan terms are often more generous than a conventional loan’s.
Fixed-rate mortgage
Fixed-rate mortgages maintain the same interest rate over the life of your loan, which means your monthly mortgage payment always stays the same. Fixed loans typically come in terms of 15 years or 30 years, although some lenders allow borrowers to pick any term between eight and 30 years.
Pros of fixed-rate mortgages
- Monthly principal and interest payments stay the same throughout the life of the loan
- Easier to budget housing expenses from month to month
Cons of fixed-rate mortgages
- If interest rates fall, you’ll have to refinance to get that lower rate
- Interest rates typically higher than rates on adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs)
Who are fixed-rate mortgages best for?
If you are planning to stay in your home for at least five to seven years, and want to avoid the potential for changes to your monthly payments, a fixed-rate mortgage is right for you.
In contrast to fixed-rate loans, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have interest rates that fluctuate with market conditions. Many ARM products have a fixed interest rate for a few years before the loan changes to a variable interest rate for the remainder of the term. For example, you might see a 7/6 ARM, which means that your rate will remain the same for the first seven years and will adjust every six months after that initial period. If you consider an ARM, it’s essential to read the fine print to know how much your rate can increase and how much you could wind up paying after the introductory period expires.
Pros of ARMs
Lower fixed rate in the first few years of homeownership (although this isn’t a guarantee; as of late, 30-year fixed rates have actually been similar to those for 5/6 ARMs)
Can save a substantial amount of money on interest payments
Cons of ARMs
Monthly mortgage payments could become unaffordable, resulting in a loan default
Home values may fall in a few years, making it harder to refinance or sell before the loan resets
Who are adjustable-rate mortgages best for?
If you don’t plan to stay in your home beyond a few years, an ARM could help you save on interest payments. However, it’s important to be comfortable with a certain level of risk that your payments might increase if you’re still in the home.
Other types of home loans
In addition to these common kinds of mortgages, there are other types you may find when shopping around for a loan:
- Construction loans: If you want to build a home, a construction loan can be a good financing choice — especially a construction-to-permanent loan, which converts to a traditional mortgage once you move into the residence. These short-term loans are best for applicants who can provide a higher down payment and proof that they can afford the monthly payments.
- Interest-only mortgages: With an interest-only mortgage, the borrower makes interest-only payments for a set period – usually five and seven years — followed by payments for both principal and interest. You won’t build equity as quickly with this loan, since you’re initially only paying back interest. These loans are best for those who know they can sell or refinance, or for those who can reasonably expect to afford the higher monthly payment later.
- Piggyback loans: A piggyback loan, also referred to as an 80/10/10 loan, involves two loans: one for 80 percent of the home price and another for 10 percent. You’ll make a down payment for the remaining 10 percent.These loan products are designed to help the borrower avoid paying for mortgage insurance. But piggyback loans require two sets of closing costs, and you’ll also accrue interest on two loans, making this unconventional arrangement these best for those who will actually save money using it.
- Balloon mortgages: A balloon mortgage requires a large payment at the end of the loan term. Generally, you’ll make payments based on a 30-year term, but only for a short time, such as seven years. When the loan term ends, you’ll make a large payment on the outstanding balance, which can be unmanageable if you’re not prepared or your credit situation deteriorates. These loans are best for those who have the stable financial resources needed to make a large balloon payment once the loan term ends.
Mortgage Rates Catch a Break
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 in the bigger picture, it was a noticeable increase from the 6.81 seen at the end of April, or the slightly lower range before that. Today's improvement was modest, but at least it was an improvement. And at least it prevents us from needing to write headlines about an official break above the 7.0% level. As for motivations, the bond market (which dictates rates) improved after a slew of economic data this morning and a speech from Fed Chair Powell. In terms of timing, more of the improvement happened after Powell, but it's impossible to know if traders weren't simply waiting for the morning's key events to transpire before fully reacting. The average lender is about 0.05% lower than yesterday. Most lenders began the day roughly in line with yesterday and then made a mid-day adjustment in response to the bond market gains.
12 hours 14 minutes ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Rising Closer to 7%
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, they were well on their way lower, ultimately ending the month just over 6.8%. Since then, it's been tough sledding for bonds and the rate market. Almost every day in the month of May has been a bad one. Even if the size of the rate increases have been reasonably small, they're starting to add up. Now today, the average lender is back on the doorstep of 7% for top tier conventional 30yr fixed mortgage rates. A second wave of weakness in the bond market this afternoon is resulting in many lenders announcing mid-day increases. With that, today's index ended up at 6.99%--all this despite an absence of any standout individual motivations in today's news. Tomorrow brings a slew of important economic reports. If they come in stronger than expected, rates could face additional upward pressure. If they're weaker, markets may dismiss them as stale data that was overly influenced by tariff-related uncertainty that has since improved.
1 day 11 hours ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Hold Fairly Steady After Inflation Data
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 reports from the US government, and inflation is a big deal for interest rates. In general, higher inflation coincides with higher rates and vice versa. But today's CPI data was likely to be taken with a grain of salt due to the to-be-determined impacts of tariffs and trade deals on the price of imported goods and materials. In other words, if inflation came in lower than expected, it wouldn't matter as much as normal because. The only real risk was that inflation would come in higher than expectations, thus suggesting that any tariff-related impact would be hitting an already elevated price trend. Thankfully, today's report was slightly lower than expected, even though it moved up from last month's levels. As expected, that didn't do anything to help rates. In fact, the average lender is just a hair higher than yesterday owing to market movement that happened later in the day.
2 days 11 hours ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Jump to 2 Week Highs After US/China Trade Talks
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 determined by bond prices. The reaction function for rates is a bit complicated at first glance because tariffs can exert influence in opposite directions. To whatever extent trade policy results in lower economic growth, it would generally be good for rates, all other things being equal. To whatever extent trade policy results in higher prices, lower revenue, and lower foreign demand for US assets (which tends to correlate with trade relationships), it would push rates higher. Over the weekend, the US and China agreed on a 90 day pause on the more extreme tariff brinksmanship. While levels remain elevated enough to cause some inflation concern (remember: bad for rates), they've come down enough to alleviate some concern about the global economy (also bad for rates). Today's move wasn't huge as far as mortgage rate volatility goes, but the average lender is now up to the highest levels in just over 2 weeks. [thirtyyearmortgagerates]
3 days 11 hours ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Barely Lower to End The Week
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 related headlines this morning. Specifically, some comments suggested this weekend's negotiations between the US and China in Switzerland would merely be a starting point. As has been the case for most any other recent trading day, there were plenty of other headlines that may have had an impact, but the overall movement is so small that nothing really stands out. Looking ahead, the bond market (and thus, rates) will likely be tuning into next Tuesday's inflation data along with any substantive developments from the weekend's trade negotiations (which would be a tall order since they don't involve a meeting between Xi and Trump).
6 days 11 hours ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Move Higher After Trade Deal
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 fairly close to yesterday's latest levels, but were ultimately forced to raise rates in response to weakness in the bond market. The rationale for this market reaction can be debated. Some market watchers conclude that a trade deal is simply "good for stocks and bad for bonds" because it's economically bullish. While that sentiment CAN account for some of the movement, it's not the whole story. Bonds (which dictate rates) have specific concerns regarding inflation, foreign demand, and issuance needs. These are high level topics that are beyond the scope of a daily mortgage rate recap, but suffice it to say "rates have a lot on their minds" when it comes to how trade policy shakes out. Unfortunately, it's sort of a no win situation in the short term. The only exception would have been a full exemption from tariffs. In the bigger picture, today's mortgage rate increase is unremarkable--sort of average--and it leaves the rate index well below the early April highs, despite being well above the range seen during the month of March.
1 week ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Lower After Fed Announcement, But Not Because of It
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 is that there wasn't even anything remotely resembling a decision, nor did anyone expect there to be. Markets were effectively betting on a zero percent chance of a rate cut at this meeting, and that's been the case for several weeks. Fed speakers had also been very clear in their shoulder shrugs during that time, saying that there are two big policy considerations in play right now, each arguing in the opposite direction. Specifically, the Fed has a mandate to "promote maximum employment," which could also be viewed as "promote a strong economy," and a mandate for "price stability," which is fancy talk for the Fed's inflation fighting role. When Fed speakers have recently referred to those two mandates being in tension, they mean the potential drag on the economy from tariffs and tighter fiscal policy argues in favor of lower rates if it translates to higher unemployment and weaker economic data. Contrast that to the potential increase in inflation due to tariffs, which argues in favor of higher rates. Simply put, there was nothing the Fed could do today but sit on its hands and wait to see which side of the mandate ended up having more compelling evidence, and nothing for Fed Chair Powell to do but reiterate that fact multiple times when almost every reporter asked a different version of the same question.
1 week 1 day ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Improve Slightly After Starting Out Flat
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 afternoon's scheduled 10yr Treasury auction. The market's reaction to the auction allowed many lenders to revise mortgage rates slightly lower. Mortgage rates are based on securities that are similar to US Treasuries in many ways. As such, when something happens that impacts Treasuries, the mortgage securities market tends to feel it. This doesn't always prompt an immediate change in mortgage rates because lenders only tend to make mid day changes when the underlying market makes a big enough move. Today's market movement wasn't exactly massive, but it was enough for most lenders to make an adjustment. In the bigger picture, a strong reception for a 10yr Treasury auction is reassuring for rates in general. That said, it will continue to be economic data and key fiscal developments that dictate momentum going forward.
1 week 2 days ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Roughly Unchanged to Start New Week
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 minimal. One thing to keep in mind is that mortgage rates don't change in real time with the market. Lenders set rates once in the morning and only change them when the bond market experiences a certain threshold of volatility. A small handful of lenders met that threshold and ended up raising rates this afternoon, but the average lender remained right in line with Friday. The implication is that if the bond market were to start tomorrow exactly where it's ending today, most lenders would be in a position to set tomorrow's rates slightly higher. This is purely hypothetical, however as there's no way to know which direction bonds will move overnight.
1 week 3 days ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Are Actually Higher This Week
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, we were still in stronger territory for the week. But now today, the average lender is back up to 6.90%. While that's not as high as the beginning of last week, it's noticeably above the end-of-week mark of 6.84%. In other words, rates are higher this week. Note: you may see other headlines suggesting the opposite, but those will almost certainly be citing Freddie Mac's weekly rate survey which has methodology that gives too much weight to stale data and doesn't even capture the past 2 days of movement. As for the culprit, look no further than today's big jobs report. The data showed job creation rising faster than expected. Even after accounting for negative revisions to previous months, investors were braced for worse news. In general, good economic news is bad for rates--a fact that played out throughout today's trading session, ultimately resulting in many mortgage lenders issuing mid-day rate hikes.
1 week 6 days ago
Checkout newsRates Pull Back Slightly After Stronger Economic Data
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 closely watched report on the manufacturing sector. The economic data wasn't strong in outright terms. In fact, it suggested contraction in the sector. But what matters is that it was stronger than the market expected. In general, stronger data causes weakness in the bond market which, in turn, results in mortgage lenders offering higher rates. Today's change was just as small as any other day this week. Specifically, The average borrower would barely see a change from yesterday. Volatility remains a risk, however, with the release of even more important economic data tomorrow morning. At 8:30am ET, the Labor Department releases the Employment Situation (the official name for what everyone simply refers to as "the jobs report"). No other economic data has a more consistent track record of inspiring change in the rate landscape. That said, keep in mind that the potency of any given report is all about potential. That potential is only realized if the results are much higher or lower than forecast.
2 weeks ago
Checkout newsAnother Small Victory For Mortgage Rates
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 than 0.10% on any given day, nor was it uncommon to see multiple changes during the same day. Fast forward to the present week and the average lender hasn't strayed from Friday's levels by more than a few hundredths of a percent. Moreover, the "straying" has been exclusively in a friendly direction. Today's installment was the least eventful of the 3 days so far this week. The bond market worked through its volatility before mortgage lenders set rates for the day and there hasn't been much movement after that. As such, the average lender was able to set rates right in line with yesterday and leave them there for the duration. In outright terms, the average top tier 30yr fixed rate is at 6.81%, which can mean most individual rate quotes are going out between 6.625% and 6.875% (for a best case scenario). 6.75% is a less common rate due to the structure of the underlying mortgage bond market (for reasons that are beyond the scope of this article, this basically means that by the time you're moving down from 6.875, the next lower rate that makes sense to quote is 6.75%, with some limited exceptions). As always, no one should read much into the outright level of a mortgage rate index. An individual scenario can vary significantly based on several factors. Instead, focus on the day over day change.
2 weeks 1 day ago
Checkout newsFriendly, Stable Trend Continues For Mortgage Rates
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 pretty close to fully re-entering the narrow range that persisted before the April 2nd tariff announcement. [thirtyyearmortgagerates] Depending on one's worldview, tariffs could be a good or bad thing. Let's just say they're a thing that can be good in the right applications and that the initial roll-out of the tariff plan was too much of a good thing. The early April rate spike was due to fallout from that realization and the recovery has coincided with a more measured approach toward more sustainable trading relationships. Of course there's much left to be determined and solidified, but whereas the bond market (and thus, rates) was a bit panicked at first, the balance of official communications has afforded traders more confidence. In addition, most traders assume there will be a near-term economic toll to pay as trade relationships are re-worked, and when markets expect weaker economic data, it puts downward pressure on rates, all other things being equal. Things aren't exactly equal in this case. Inflation pushes rates higher and there is definitely some fear that tariffs will cause a surge in inflation--temporary or otherwise. As this push and pull between the economy and inflation is increasingly resolved in the objective data, rates will have a better sense of where they'll settle out.
2 weeks 2 days ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Start New Week Slightly Lower
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 improvements as the day progressed. Mortgage lenders prefer to update rates only once per day, but they will make mid-day adjustments if the underlying bond market moves enough. Fortunately, today's adjustments were toward slightly lower levels. That said, the changes were small enough that the average borrower may not notice any difference versus Friday's rate quotes. As the week continues, there will be more and more scheduled events with the power to cause intraday volatility and even to impact the longer-term trend. As for that trend, it is arguably flat at the moment after experiencing significant volatility for most of the month of April.
2 weeks 3 days ago
Checkout newsLowest Mortgage Rates in Nearly 3 Weeks
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 data. If you're reading this, however, none of that matters because the following is as timely as it gets: the average mortgage lender is now at the lowest level since April 7th. Improvements versus yesterday vary depending on the lender. Some of them made friendly adjustments yesterday afternoon in response to stronger trading in the bond market. Others waited to make those adjustments until this morning. In the bigger picture, rates are still slightly elevated compared to their recent stint calmly holding the lowest levels since December. But they're not looking nearly as panicked as they did in the week following the big tariff announcements earlier this month. The coming week brings an active slate of economic data and events with the power to whip up some additional volatility. As always, we can only know about the potential for volatility. The actual direction and magnitude of rate movement will depend on the outcome of the economic reports as well as any other relevant headlines that emerge throughout the week.
2 weeks 6 days ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Continue Lower
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 without any major rebounds. The present week started out on shakier footing as rates lurched higher on Monday. Fortunately, the sailing has been smoother since then. Today was actually the best day of the week so far for the underlying bond market. Most of the improvement happened in overseas trading overnight, but gains continued in the U.S. The average top tier 30yr fixed rate fell 0.04% from yesterday. Based on the timing of the bond market gains, if nothing were to change overnight, the average lender would be able to move slightly lower again tomorrow. NOTE: the preceding is not a prediction. It's merely a comment on the fact that the bond market improved a bit more than the average mortgage rate would suggest. There's never a guarantee that bonds will do any particular thing between now and the next time mortgage lenders are setting rates for the day.
3 weeks ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Pulled in Two Directions, But End Day Lower
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 dust-up involved Trump's criticism of Fed Chair Powell which resulted in higher rates over the weekend. Now today we've had several comments from Trump (starting yesterday evening) saying that he was never planning to fire Powell and just generally conveying a more measured tone. Financial markets responded favorably. Had this been the only news of the day, rates would have dropped almost an eighth of a point. We can arrive at this conclusion due to trading levels in the bond market at the time. But other news pushed back in the other direction. Specifically, a closely watched gauge of business activity showed the sharpest spike in prices in 13 months in the services sector and 29 months for the manufacturing sector. Higher inflation begets higher rates, all other things being equal. Many mortgage lenders were forced to raise rates during the day, ultimately resulting in today's average being only modestly lower than yesterday's.
3 weeks 1 day ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Hold Almost Perfectly Steady
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 helped the underlying bond market retrace some of the recent steps. Those steps resulted in the highest rates in several months and one of the biggest weekly rate spikes in years. The present week began with echoes of that unpleasantness. Headlines regarding Trump's comments about Fed Chair Powell rattled the market and sent rates lurching higher. Now, 24 hours later, an absence of any additional escalation has given way to calmer market movement and generally flat interest rates. In fact, it has been one of the very calmest days in recent memory for mortgage rates. Not only is today's average effectively right in line with yesterday's latest levels. There hasn't even been any intraday changes among mortgage lenders. Specifically, mortgage lenders prefer to set rates once per day and only make adjustments if the bond market experiences sufficient volatility. Lately, that's been a rule rather than an exception. Today, however, we haven't seen enough bond market movement to prompt any intraday changes, thus leaving the top tier conventional 30yr fixed rate just under 7% for the average lender.
3 weeks 2 days ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Jump Back Toward 7%
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 the absence of major trade war escalations. Despite the solid improvement, the outright level of rates remained elevated compared to most of the past 2 months. In addition, the risk of volatility could not (and cannot) be ruled out when the market is more willing to react to fiscal policy headlines than economic data. The latest headlines involve heavy criticism of Fed Chair Powell on the part of The President. Without any comment on whether that criticism is justified, we can still observe that markets find it unsettling. Traders are expressing that sentiment by pushing stocks lower and rates higher. Mortgage rates jumped fairly sharply today, with the average lender moving up from 6.87% to just under 7.00% for top tier 30yr fixed scenarios.
3 weeks 3 days ago
Checkout newsMortgage Rates Edge Higher Today, But Lower on The Week
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 improvement and it's been slow going since then. In fact, today ended up going slowly in the other direction with the average lender moving slightly higher in rate compared to yesterday. The pace of movement is nothing like we saw last week, thankfully. The financial markets that underlie rates are definitely taking a breather after the extreme volatility last week, but until fiscal policies are firmly decided and on cruise control, it's a good idea to remain vigilant against heighted volatility.
4 weeks ago
Checkout newsIn 51 U.S. states are published
1000
Companies
759
Counties
914
Cities
The 5 newest Companies
3040 Umi St, Lihue, HI 96766
1650 County Services Pkwy, Marietta, GA 30008
2360 US-258, Kinston, NC 28504
66 Prospect St, Ridgefield, CT 06877
1701 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236
Other Companies
1542 S Bloomington St, Greencastle, IN 46135
128 N 6th St #101, O'Neill, NE 68763
4300 Cherry Creek S Dr, Denver, Colorado 80246
20 Care Dr, Hillsdale, MI 49242
105 3rd St E, Ottumwa, IA 52501