Mortgage rates rose to the week's highest levels yesterday, but they moved back down today. Although there have been slightly better days over the past 2 weeks, today's improvement is enough to keep rates in the best territory since November 2016. For the average lender, this means top tier scenarios continue to see quotes in the high 3% range.
In general, the expectation for more accommodative Fed policy at the next meeting (end of July) has been the primary source of inspiration for the most recent leg of 2019's already-impressive rate rally. It's good to remember, however, that those expectations come from somewhere. No one would expect the Fed to cut rates if inflation was higher, a US/China trade deal hammered out, or economic data coming in universally stronger. While it's practically impossible for all of those underlying factors to reverse course overnight, there is a risk that something positive comes out of the G20 summit in the next 2 days and that next week's economic data comes in much stronger than expected. Bottom line: there continues to be a risk of a bigger move and more volatility ahead.