Mortgage rates were decidedly mixed today, depending on the lender.  Some were in better shape compared to last Thursday (markets were closed on Friday) while others were decidedly worse.   Most of the differences between lenders can be explained by last week's pricing strategies heading into the holiday weekend.  Bond markets were under pressure on Thursday afternoon.  That typically means lenders will be increasing rates and putting out new rate sheets in the middle of the day.  Indeed, that happened in quite a few cases on Thursday.  Other lenders simply left the morning rate sheets intact, and they're the ones who moved to higher rates today, effectively getting caught up with the rest of the market.

Mortgage rates moved decisively lower today, following a speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen.  While she accomplished it in several ways, Yellen's overarching message was that the Fed is in no hurry to raise rates.  Keep in mind, the Fed Funds Rate is not the same as mortgage rates.  In fact, the two can move in opposite directions at times.  In general though, when the Fed is perceived as providing more accommodation (via low rates or various bond buying programs), it's good news for all sorts of financial markets, including the market for mortgage-backed-securities (MBS) that ultimately dictate mortgage rates.

Mortgage rates held steady in most cases today, though several lenders continued to improve.  The average lender is at least down to 3.75% in terms of conventional 30yr fixed rates on top tier scenarios, but many are already back to 3.625%.  Yesterday's strong gains came courtesy of a speech from Fed Chair Yellen, and today provided an opportunity for financial markets to confirm their intentions.  If the Yellen-inspired drop in rates was going to be a temporary knee-jerk movement, we would have seen evidence of that today.  As it stands, this sideways movement is the market's way of getting comfortable with heading back toward lower rates.  It's not necessarily a given, but the point is that it hasn't been ruled out.

Mortgage rates dropped again today, continuing a recent trend of improvement and bringing us to the best levels seen since March 1st.  Market volatility is still making for a wide variety of pricing strategies between lenders with some of them easily back down to 3.625% on conventional 30yr fixed quotes while others aren't quite there yet.  Either way, the average lender is more likely to be quoting 3.625% on top tier scenarios than on any other day this month.  

The timing is dramatic, with today being the last day of the month/quarter and also the day before the important Employment Situation report (aka "jobs report").  The month/quarter-end designation is important because it creates a relative frenzy of trading activity regardless of the economic data or events.  When there are big moves like this, they almost always guarantee a bigger move on the following day.  It just so happens that the following day is already doing just fine as far as motivations for big moves, because the jobs report is the most important piece of economic data on any given month.

Mortgage rates continued lower today, despite a fairly strong showing in the Employment Situation report.  The so-called 'jobs report' is the most important piece of economic data on any given month and it always has the potential to cause big moves in rates.  This time around, the data was close enough to forecast levels that it didn't have a big impact on the bond markets that underly mortgage rate movement.