Mortgage rates resumed a week-long move higher today, bringing them to the highest levels since March 19th or 20th, depending on the lender. Between now and then, they'd fallen abruptly to the best levels in more than 15 months. The improvements were meaningful enough to draw out refinance applicants in droves according to weekly mortgage app data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) this morning. On an even more impressive note, the MBA's count of purchase applications was at its highest level in nearly a decade! While we can't give low rates all the credit for fueling the purch... (read more)

Mortgage rates barely budged today after hitting the highest levels in more than a week yesterday. In general, the bond market (which dictates rate movements) looks to be leveling off ahead of tomorrow's important jobs report. And that provides a useful clue about potential volatility ahead. It's not uncommon for the Employment Situation (the official name of the jobs report) to have the biggest impact on interest rates on any given month compared to the other regularly scheduled economic reports. Like most economic data, if the results are stronger than expected, the implication is for higher... (read more)