Mortgage rates didn't move much for the second day this week.  Unlike yesterday, there was a relatively massive amount of volatility in underlying financial markets.  This was especially true for stocks and the US Treasury market (which sets the tone for the broader bond market where mortgages operate).  Even if we look specifically at mortgage-backed securities (MBS), we see some of the best gains this month.

In fact, mortgage rates likely would have ended the day with more noticeable improvement if the gains had remained intact.  Unfortunately, the strength began to erode in the late morning hours.  Bonds had benefited from massive stock losses, but starting just after 10am, stocks began to bounce back while bonds weakened (weaker bonds = higher rates).  Momentum kicked into higher gear later in the day and several lenders who had offered decent improvements this morning were forced to recall rates sheets and reissue new, higher rates.

The net effect is that the average lender is now showing only modestly lower rates compared to yesterday's latest offerings.  Like yesterday the change is only measurable in terms of upfront costs.  Actual NOTE rates are unchanged (lower upfront costs imply lower "effective rates").