Mortgage rates managed to hold steady today, on average (some lenders were slightly better while others were slightly worse) despite a more upbeat economic assessment from The Federal Reserve. The Fed releases a statement on monetary policy 8 times a year. These statements let markets know what the Fed is thinking and how it is planning on approaching policy in the future. They also serve as venues to announce changes in the Fed's policy rate, the "Fed Funds Rate," which has a bearing on almost all other rates (including mortgages). The Fed wasn't expected to hike rates with today's statement,... (read more)