Category Archives: Mortgage Rates

Coronavirus has brought chaos to financial markets like few other things have.  Much of the fallout is unprecedented.  This is especially true for interest rates and the mortgage market.  In many ways, things are more chaotic now than they were in 2008.  That has positive and negative implications.  Here’s what you need to know. Market […]

It’s no secret that the stock market has plummeted this week and only slightly less of a secret that the 10yr Treasury yield has dropped well into new all-time lows (on 4 straight days, in fact).  Given that mortgage rates are often discussed in the context of the 10yr yield, why in the world aren’t they […]

Another week ending with the lowest rates in more than 3 years will mean another week with the highest levels of refinance demand in more than 3 years. In fact, refi demand is now as high as it’s been since 2013, even though rates haven’t yet moved below 2016’s lows. As the chart shows, rates are nearly as […]

Low-interest rates have been one of 2020’s most pleasant surprises.  Heading into the end of 2019, there were more than a few reasons to worry that rates would be moving steadily higher this year.  The upside is that they would at least be starting that journey near enough to all time lows and that the […]

As interest rates moved in an ever-narrower pattern in the 2nd half of 2019, we looked to early 2020 to break that cycle, for better or worse. So far, 2020 has delivered on the promise of increased volatility, but not for the reasons anyone expected. There was a far better case to be made for […]

By Friday of last week, it was clear that the coronavirus outbreak was having a significant impact on markets with stocks and bond yields (aka interest rates) both moving lower. Those same themes intensified this week, ultimately paving the way for the lowest mortgage rates since 2016.   That may come as a surprise to those who believe […]

Although there were a few caveats, last week saw one of the biggest jumps in new home construction in more than decade.  Now this week’s data shows existing home sales at their highest in nearly 2 years, and close to highest in more than a decade. Is housing starting to boom again? The following chart of existing sales helps […]

Things are looking up for the housing market at the start of the new year.  Granted, some of the following data pertains to the last few months of 2019, but it nonetheless speaks to a friendly shift that is arguably already well underway.  Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index offers a broad measure of housing […]

Everything’s relative when it comes to mortgage rates. For every homeowner that’s been concerned about a short-term increase in rates, there’s another who’s glad to remind them how high rates used to be. At the moment, with top tier 30yr fixed offerings hanging out under 4%, it’s hard to be too concerned about where we are today.  But fretting […]

Last week, we talked about the many reasons that the importance of the US/China trade relationship could not be overstated. This week’s market movement showed why.  With new tariffs set to take effect on Sunday, Dec 15th, we knew big news became more and more likely as the week progressed.  It arrived unequivocally on Thursday and remained front […]