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Mortgage rates did improve today, but the Treasury Department will announce the terms of next week's government debt auctions at 11am tomorrow. The Treasury will sell 2 year notes, 5 year notes, and 7 year notes. New supply of debt on the market can pressure interest rates higher. With rates holding near the lowest levels of the year, I continue to favor locking loans closing and funding in the next 30 days. Even if benchmark Treasury yields do rally in the next few days, mortgage rates will find it difficult to move much lower....

Reports from fellow mortgage professionals indicate mortgage rates to be similar to yesterday’s. The par 30 year conventional rate mortgage remains in the 5.00% to 5.25% range for well qualified consumers. To secure a par interest rate you must have a FICO credit score of 740 or higher, a loan to value at 80% or less and pay all closing costs including an estimated one point loan origination/discount/broker fee. If you are seeking a 15 year term, you should expect a par rate of 4.375% to 4.50% with similar costs. There are currently two thoughts regarding the recent move higher with mortgage rates. One side is saying that this is the start of higher mortgage rates which will continue into next year as the economy continues to improve. The other side of the argument is the recent move higher isn’t an indication of a trend for rates next year but rather due to very low volume of activity due to market participants being on vacation over the last two weeks of the year. What is your opinion? Do you feel the move higher in rates will continue into next year and the days of rates under 5% are over? Or do you feel once the first team traders come back to work from their Christmas vacations that much of the losses we have suffered will be recaptured and rates will once again move below 5%?...