Mortgages Rates managed to hold mostly steady today, ending a week that saw the sharpest 2 day increase in nearly 6 months.  Best-Execution for 30-Year Fixed, Conventional Loans continues to operate at 4-4.125% at best.  Although buy-downs to 3.875% are available, there will be significant additional costs in most cases.  

(read more about Best-Execution calculations).

(read more about Wednesday's Big Changes in Rates).

This leaves us in a situation where Best-Execution rates are in territory not seen for several months.  At current levels, rates could notch an eighth or two higher before encountering their first significant supportive ceiling.  So although holding steady for two days is a relief after Wednesday's big losses, don't let it affect your decision making process (assuming you're faced with a decision regarding locking or floating). Understand that rates could just as easily move higher tomorrow as they could hold steady or improve.

Because today was essentially flat in terms of rate movement, we would need to see how Monday turns out before we could begin to entertain a higher-than-random chance that mortgage rates will dig in for support at current levels and possibly rally lower.  The past two days have been promising, but not conclusively so, and more likely than not, are merely the beginning of a period of greater volatility for rates.  Some of that volatility might work in our favor, but for now, we expect the swings to be bigger and the windows of opportunity to be smaller.

Today's BEST-EXECUTION Rates

• 30YR FIXED -  4.0% at best.  Some 4.125%
  
• FHA/VA -3.75%
  
• 15 YEAR FIXED -  3.25% and 3.375%
  
• 5 YEAR ARMS -  2.625-3.25% depending on the lender
  

Ongoing Lock/Float Considerations

• Rates and costs continue to operate near all time best levels
• Current levels have experienced increasing, resistance in improving much from here
• There are technical reasons for that as well as fundamental reasons 
  
• Lenders tend to get busier when rates are in this "high 3's" level and can throttle their inbound volume by raising rates or costs.
• While we don't necessarily think rates are destined to go higher, given the above facts, there seems to be more risk than reward regarding floating
• (As always, please keep in mind that our talk of Best-Execution always pertains to a completely ideal scenario.  There can be all sorts of reasons that your quoted rate would not be the same as our average rates, and in those cases, assuming you're following along on a day to day basis, simply use the Best-Ex levels we quote as a baseline to track potential movement in your quoted rate).