Wed, Mar 15 2023, 4:17 PM
Does Credit Suisse qualify as a "big bank" anymore? The company could be argued to be circling the drain for many months, but nonetheless holds hundr...
Tue, Mar 14 2023, 2:58 PM
Mortgage rates made substantial gains yesterday as financial markets underwent a classic flight to safety. This involves selling riskier assets like ...
Mon, Mar 13 2023, 2:53 PM
If you're just getting caught up or otherwise haven't heard, the biggest news in financial markets since last Friday has been the precipitous failure ...
Thu, Mar 9 2023, 3:38 PM
While the Federal Reserve doesn't directly dictate mortgage rates, the outlook for Fed rate hikes matters a great deal. In the days and weeks leading...
Wed, Mar 8 2023, 4:40 PM
There's probably not going to be any way around it. However volatile rates may have been in the past 2 weeks, they're at risk of much larger swings i...
Tue, Mar 7 2023, 4:11 PM
Jerome Powell is the Chair of the Federal Reserve--the entity that sets overnight lending rates in an attempt to keep inflation in a low, stable range...
Mon, Mar 6 2023, 4:10 PM
Mortgage rates have been hovering around the highest levels in months over the past 2 weeks, but had made a bit of progress by the end of last week. ...
Fri, Mar 3 2023, 4:43 PM
It's not a decisive victory, but rather, a nice way to end a week that had previously seen rates pushed over 7% for the first time in months. The bon...
Thu, Mar 2 2023, 3:14 PM
Mortgage rates have been hit hard on two fronts over the past month. The first front is the obvious one: the bond market has moved in a way that forc...
Wed, Mar 1 2023, 5:09 PM
If you want to see higher 30yr fixed mortgage rates, you'd have to go back to November 9th, 2022 after today. To be fair, that's been true on several...
Tue, Feb 28 2023, 4:08 PM
At face value, today was a loss for mortgage rates. The average lender is quoting a slightly higher rate for conventional 30yr fixed scenarios compar...
Mon, Feb 27 2023, 4:31 PM
Mortgage rates began the new week on a modestly positive note. The average lender is now quoting conventional 30yr fixed loans at a slightly lower ra...
Fri, Feb 24 2023, 5:10 PM
Thu, Feb 23 2023, 4:01 PM
We keep pretty timely track of mortgage rates around here--timely enough to account for several changes on any given day. As such, we mean it when we...
Wed, Feb 22 2023, 5:25 PM
The Federal Reserve directly controls the shortest term lending rates. Mortgage rates are dictated by longer-term bonds in the open market, but trade...
Tue, Feb 21 2023, 4:15 PM
On November 9th, 2022, the average lender was quoting 30yr fixed rates well over 7%. On day later, that figure dropped to 6.625%. It was one of the ...
Thu, Feb 16 2023, 2:53 PM
First off, I apologize. You're right. How would I know exactly what you've been told about mortgage rates today? I can only draw the same sort of g...
Wed, Feb 15 2023, 3:58 PM
Rates have been rising at a reasonably quick pace for most of February. The process began in earnest after labor market data on February 3rd. Market...
Tue, Feb 14 2023, 3:11 PM
The Fed generally wants annual inflation to be around 2% at the core level. "Core" is fancy market jargon for an economic metric that excludes some o...
Mon, Feb 13 2023, 5:20 PM
Before you let the promise of volatility alarm you, keep in mind that it cuts both ways. In other words, mortgage rate volatility can result in rates...
Fri, Feb 10 2023, 4:51 PM
Thu, Feb 9 2023, 1:58 PM
In general, this has been a week of correction and reversal for mortgage rates. After hitting the lowest levels in more than 4 months last week, they...
Wed, Feb 8 2023, 4:32 PM
Today's mortgage rate recap is largely similar to yesterday's--not because the same things happened, but rather because the bigger stories and bigger ...
Tue, Feb 7 2023, 4:35 PM
The majority of January was characterized by sharp decline in mortgage rate volatility and the lowest rates in several months, the first week of Febru...
Mon, Feb 6 2023, 3:34 PM
Mortgage rates were already under quite a bit of pressure on Friday following the stunningly strong jobs report in the morning. Strong economic data ...
Fri, Feb 3 2023, 4:34 PM
Interest rates take cues from several places. Regularly scheduled economic data is always a consideration because a stronger economy implies more grow...
Thu, Feb 2 2023, 3:52 PM
Mortgage rates responded favorably to yesterday's press conference with Fed Chair Powell. We discussed that move in detail in yesterday's commentary:...
Wed, Feb 1 2023, 4:48 PM
For some, this will be old hat. For others, there's a mystifying dynamic that demands explanation. The confusion stems from years of being condition...
Tue, Jan 31 2023, 4:02 PM
Mortgage rates have been roughly in line with last week's latest levels at the beginning of the current week. That means they're fairly close to the ...
Fri, Jan 27 2023, 4:43 PM
There are those who always try to portray the glass as being half full when it comes to the housing market. Then there are those who love a full glass...
Thu, Jan 26 2023, 3:33 PM
Scheduled economic reports are one of the first places the market looks to get a read on interest rate momentum. Of all the days this week, Thursday ...
Wed, Jan 25 2023, 4:26 PM
Mortgage rates are primarily determined by the bond market, and it's been an uneventful week for bonds! That means we haven't seen much of a change i...
Tue, Jan 24 2023, 4:31 PM
Mortgage rates began the day at higher levels than yesterday for the average lender, but the movement was fairly small. Most lenders were still able ...
Mon, Jan 23 2023, 4:15 PM
After hitting the lowest levels in 4 months at times over the past week, rates have drifted up a bit. There hasn't been much rhyme or reason behind t...
Thu, Jan 19 2023, 4:04 PM
If you cross paths with the average mortgage rate article (or tweet/post/etc) today, chances are you'll see some mention of "rates moving lower." Tha...
Wed, Jan 18 2023, 4:28 PM
Mortgage rates moved down at a fairly quick pace today following a slew of rate-friendly headlines. Technically, the headlines were good for the bond...
Tue, Jan 17 2023, 3:39 PM
The holiday-shortened week sees mortgage rates starting out slightly higher when compared to the end of last week. Versus any other day in the past 4...
Fri, Jan 13 2023, 4:50 PM
Mortgage rates officially hit their lowest levels in 4 months after this week's inflation data. Despite the recent progress, Fed officials continue to...
Thu, Jan 12 2023, 4:46 PM
Today brought the scheduled monthly release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Of all the monthly economic reports, this one has had the biggest impa...
Wed, Jan 11 2023, 3:31 PM
Mortgage rates are based primarily on the prices and yields of bonds. Bonds take cues from several places, but always from inflation and the economy-...
Tue, Jan 10 2023, 3:51 PM
After coming close to the lowest levels in 4 months yesterday, mortgage rates bounced slightly higher today. There's never any way to know exactly wh...
Mon, Jan 9 2023, 3:43 PM
Last Friday was a great day for mortgage rates with two important economic reports helping the bond market make serious gains (read more). Mortgage le...
Fri, Jan 6 2023, 4:50 PM
The Federal Reserve (aka "The Fed") has a parrot problem, and it's on a crash course with economic reality... maybe. The Fed sets policies that impac...
Thu, Jan 5 2023, 3:32 PM
The most basic way to think about interest rate movement is to assume that a strong economy pushes rates higher and vice versa. There are many other ...
Wed, Jan 4 2023, 4:11 PM
There are Fed Announcements, which involve rate hikes/cuts, press conferences, and updated rate forecasts after a 2 day meeting among Fed members. An...
Tue, Jan 3 2023, 4:00 PM
The bond market (which determines mortgage rates) has officially endured the frustratingly unique holiday trading environment that often creates undue...
Fri, Dec 30 2022, 1:12 PM
So long 2022! Don't let the door hit you. You were the worst year for mortgage rates that most of us have seen in our lifetimes in terms of the pace...
Thu, Dec 29 2022, 3:28 PM
Mortgage rates began the day very close to yesterday's latest levels. The average lender was just a hair higher. As the day progressed, US bonds fol...
Wed, Dec 28 2022, 3:10 PM
Up until just the past few weeks, the go-to headline to quantify the pace of recent mortgage rate movement tended to reference rates being the lowest ...
Tue, Dec 27 2022, 5:28 PM
Mortgage rates are based on trading in the bond market and it's a frustrating time of year for those seeking a rational relationship with bonds. In t...