Mortgage rates improved significantly on Monday and Tuesday, putting an end to a three day losing streak that pushed par home loan quotes up to 4.375%. While this corrective rally helped calm the nerves of nervous float boaters, the uptick in volatility seems to have led many float boaters ashore.  Commitment desks report an increase in lock requests over the past 24 hours.

For folks who locked their rate yesterday or this morning...Well played! Mortgage rates were basically unchanged on the open this morning, but a handful of lenders repriced for the worse this afternoon, increasing consumer borrowing costs a little more.  These reprices for the worse were not large enough to push the par 30 year fixed mortgage rate higher though.

The best par 30 year conventional mortgage rates remain in a range between 4.25% and 4.50%, for well qualified consumers. 4.125% is still available at a few lenders, but not many.  To secure a par interest rate on a conventional mortgage you must have a FICO credit score of 740 or higher, a loan to value at 80% or less and pay all the closing costs including an estimated one point loan origination/discount/broker fee.  If you are seeking a 15 year term, the par rate continues to hold in the 3.75% to 4.00% range.

The day's ahead are expected to be volatile. The risk of floating is high...

MORE ON EXPECTED VOLATILITY.....