http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n Mortgage Newsletters Archive https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260813 Thu, 13 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Thu, 13 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260813 Mortgage rates dropped noticeably on Thursday on a combination of lower oil prices and a lower inflation reading via the Producer Price Index (PPI). Rates are driven by bonds and bonds are highly responsive to the outlook for inflation and the economy. The Iran war caused inflation implications to spike and the periodic relief in fuel prices has coincided with bond market improvement (and lower rates). The official inflation data is just another form of the same benefit. Fuel prices are just one aspect of inflation--albeit a critical one, but they're more of a leading indicator. In contrast, big government data like PPI and yesterday's CPI (Consumer Price Index) help the market more accurately measure the true impact of fuel prices. PPI was only slightly lower than expected, but t Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260812 Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260812 Mortgage lenders set rates around 10am ET every day, but the bond market dictates the day to day changes, and bonds were on the move throughout the overnight trading hours. Granted, the movement wasn't extreme, but much like yesterday, it suggested a bit of optimism heading into this morning's main event: the release of July's Consumer Price Index (CPI).  CPI is one of the two big inflation reports on any given month (the other being PCE) and it has more potential to cause a reaction because it comes out 2 weeks before PCE. Given that last month's CPI showed a sharp drop in inflation and that July's fuel prices had bounced back up, the market was very focused on what the data would actually reflect. As it happened, forecasters nailed it. All the top-line numbers were right in line w Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260811 Tue, 11 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Tue, 11 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260811 It ended up being a remarkably uneventful day for mortgage rates . Some lenders were slightly higher than yesterday. Others were roughly unchanged. The difference came down to whether the lender in question raised rates yesterday afternoon. What does this mean? Lenders prefer to set rates once per day around 10am ET. But if the underlying bond market makes a big enough move, lenders can change rates during the day. Bonds lost just enough ground yesterday for some lenders to raise rates. Contrast that to today where virtually every lender maintained the same levels throughout. Tomorrow morning brings the latest release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This is one of the most important pieces of monthly economic data as far as rates are concerned. There's no way to know how it will Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260810 Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260810 As of last Friday, average top-tier mortgage rates hit their lowest levels since July 20th. If they'd managed to drop even 0.01% today, it would have been a new 3-week low.  As it stands, rates moved modestly higher in response to higher oil prices. Throughout the Iran war, oil and rates have had a broadly strong correlation because oil informs inflation expectations and inflation is a key input for the rate market. Even after today's rise, rates remain much closer to the lower end of the range over the past 3 weeks. Logically, any positive developments in the war or diplomacy should result in lower rates. Beyond that, there's separate volatility potential related to inflation reports that come out later this week, but as always, that could be for better or worse depending on the Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260807 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260807 Mortgage application activity declined for a second consecutive week as higher borrowing costs continued to weigh on both purchase and refinance demand. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 2.9% decrease in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 31. Purchase applications decreased 4% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis and were 3% lower than the same week one year ago. Elevated mortgage rates continue to challenge affordability, dampening buyer demand despite improved housing inventory in some markets. Refinance activity also softened, with the Refinance Index falling 2% from the prior week and remaining 9% below year-ago levels. As rates moved higher, fewer homeowners had an incentive to refinance. Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260806 Thu, 06 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Thu, 06 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260806 Mortgage rates rose modestly on Thursday, with multiple lenders making mid-day adjustments in response to bond market volatility. Bonds remain highly attuned to war-related developments and the impact on oil prices which, in turn, have a bearing on inflation implications.  Higher inflation begets higher interest rates , all else equal. In addition to the oil/inflation narrative, bonds also came under some pressure as Alphabet announced a large corporate bond offering. Like anything in the market, bond prices change in response to supply and demand. If a big corporate bond competes for investor demand, it can indirectly lower the demand for the bonds that underlie mortgage rates. When bond prices fall, rates rise. The good news is that the adjustment is very small in the bigger pi Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260805 Wed, 05 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Wed, 05 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260805 The bond market and mortgage rates have been on the move lower recently after hitting longer term highs at the end of July. Today offered a break from the recent movement with bonds and rates holding perfectly flat day-over-day. The upside is that this means it's yet another day spent at the lowest levels in more than 2 weeks.  The average top-tier 30yr fixed rate remained at 6.75%.  Flat oil prices helped facilitate the flat bond market performance.  Risks and opportunities remain in the coming days. If a Hormuz transit agreement is confirmed, rates could certainly fall.  If fighting breaks out again, rates could move higher. Friday's jobs report represents similar "either/or" risks depending on the outcome of the data. Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260804 Tue, 04 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Tue, 04 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260804 Mortgage rates were a bit hesitant to follow the bond market's advice yesterday. Specifically, bonds rallied (i.e. bond prices moved higher and yields/rates moved lower). This almost always coincides with mortgage rates falling by a proportional amount. But yesterday didn't see the typical level of correlation for many lenders. Today is a different story. The additional gains in the bond market (courtesy of Iran-related headlines and lower oil prices) offered enough reassurance for mortgage lenders to get a bit more aggressive in terms of keeping pace with the market.  The net effect is an average 30yr fixed rate that is now down to the lowest levels in just over 2 weeks. [thirtyyearmortgagerates] Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260803 Mon, 03 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT Mon, 03 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260803 Mortgage rates had a tough day on Friday, largely in response to bond market volatility surrounding heavy forex trading as a part of US/Japan efforts to prop up Japanese currency (not a common source of inspiration for rates).  Higher oil prices didn't help. As we begin the new week, de-escalation in the Iran war pushed oil prices much lower. As has been the case frequently during the war, bond yields followed oil prices in relative lock-step.  While it's almost universally true that lower bond yields beget lower mortgage rates, there are occasionally days where the correlation isn't as strong as normal. Today was one of them. Whether or not any given lender was lower than Friday depends largely on whether they raised rates in the middle of the day on Friday. The average lender Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260731 Fri, 31 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT Fri, 31 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/newsletter/n/20260731 Mortgage application activity pulled back last week as higher borrowing costs weighed on both home purchase and refinance demand. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 6.4% decrease in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 24. Purchase applications decreased 4% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis but remained 3% higher than the same week one year ago. While housing inventory has improved in some markets, elevated mortgage rates continue to challenge affordability for many prospective buyers. Refinance activity weakened more sharply, with the Refinance Index falling 10% from the prior week and dropping 2% below year-ago levels. The decline suggests that fewer homeowners have an incentive to refi Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/newsletter