CONTACT ME
Mortgage Rates Mostly Hold Near Lows, But Things Could Change Tomorrow

Mortgage rates moved microscopically higher today, depending on the lender.  In terms of underlying movement in the bond market, however, rates should have risen a bit more than they did.  This has to do with the timing of the bond market weakness and the amount of movement lenders typically want to see before changing their mortgage rate offerings for the day.  Simply put, weaker bonds suggest higher rates, but bonds didn't weaken fast enough for most lenders to see their "re-price" threshold.  

All of the above means that most lenders continued to offer rates that were very close to the lowest levels in more than a year.  Only a handful of days have been any better, and all of them have occurred in the past 2 months.  

Much of the credit for the recent drop in rates goes to the well-publicized trade tensions between the US and China.  As the cycle of inflammatory headlines dies down, so too does the motivation for interest rates to remain as low as they have been.  Granted, this is far from the only source of inspiration for interest rate movement, but it has probably been the biggest motivation over the past 2 weeks.  Unless trade tensions flare up unexpectedly, or unless something else captivates markets in a similar way, there's a risk that rates will continue to rise in the short term. 

This Daily Mortgage Rate Update is provided in partnership with Mortgage News Daily.