Mortgage rates continued higher to start the week, following a relatively sharp increase on Friday.  Interestingly enough, the underlying bond market was stable today.  In other words, it didn't suggest higher rates.  But the issue is that mortgage lenders adjust their rate sheets only a few times on the most volatile days.  Many of them didn't get around to it on Friday afternoon.  Those who did were greeted with another hour of bond market weakness before the week finally ended.

In other words, the underlying market was indeed suggesting we'd see mortgage rates roughly where they are today and lenders simply didn't have an opportunity to adjust their rate sheets accordingly.   This brings the average lender to the highest levels seen since before the Fed's rate-friendly announcement back on March 20th.  Some lenders are already higher than that, but most are close.  Keep in mind that there can be worthwhile opportunities to "pay points" (a term with needless stigma, perpetuated by those with an incomplete understanding of the concept) at certain rate levels.  For example, for most lenders, it makes almost no sense to lock a rate of 4.25% or 4.75% today (assuming a conventional 30yr fixed...) because the cost to buy down to 4.125% and 4.625% respectively is so much smaller than normal.  That said, lender pricing strategies and buy-down policies vary widely.  Bottom line: it's worth asking about, but it's not necessarily a given.