My Mind on Mortgages

Mortgage rates are unchanged so far today but we may see them move higher as the day goes on.
The “flight-to-quality” trade is unwinding a bit in the financial markets today.  Stronger than expected earnings reported by European banks is cultivating some confidence in the equity markets.  As a result we’re seeing yields move modestly higher [...]

After moving higher yesterday, mortgage rates have reversed back down to the levels seen on Wednesday.  Why the sudden reversal?
In yesterday’s ‘rate update’ video I reported that foreign participation in the US Treasury auctions were relatively light through Wednesday.  This is a bad sign for mortgage rates because if foreign investors don’t buy our bonds [...]

Mortgage rates are unchanged from yesterday.
As I explained in yesterday’s ‘rate update’ we are closely watching the level of foreign participation in this week’s US Treasury auctions.  Today there will be $42 billion in US T-bills sold to the market.  We wouldn’t surprised to see mortgage rates increase due to the additional supply of bonds [...]

Mortgage rates are unchanged from yesterday (mortgage rates moved modestly higher yesterday. See this morning’s you tube video to learn more about the cause of mortgage rates increasing and what we can laern from it.

The chart below shows mortgage rates ticking higher after hitting a low:

As we know mortgage rates typically rise when the stock market rallies.  That is the case this morning with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging past the 9,000 mark for the first time since January.
Stocks are rallying on a flurry of positive earnings data from Ford Motor Co., AT&T, and 3M.
However, stocks are also benefiting [...]

Sometimes words can be louder than actions.  As we expected in yesterday’s ‘rate update’ mortgage rates have improved modestly this morning thanks to Ben Bernanke’s assurances that the Fed has the tools to curb future inflation (even though no action has been taken thus far).
We pointed out earlier in the month the importance of the [...]

Mortgage rates appear poised to move lower this morning.  Despite positive earnings reports that have helped stocks to move higher, mortgage-backed bonds have rallied this morning thanks to comments made by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Watch today’s you tube video for details on what he said.
Click this link to view Fed Chairman Bernanke’s Op-ed piece in [...]

Back on July 7th I outlined the importance of watching the stock market in determining the direction of mortgage rates as we entered into the 2nd-quarter earnings season.  Last week positive sentiment from Goldman Sachs, Intel, and Google as well as better than expected housing data helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise by almost [...]

Mortgage rates opened up level with yesterday but appear poised to move higher this afternoon in response to a small rally in the stock market. Signs of economic stabilization have helped stocks move into positive territory.
The Commerce Department reported this morning that housing starts in the month of June increased by 3.6% which is [...]

Mortgage rates did move higher yesterday afternoon but have dropped back to yesterday’s levels this morning.
For the last week we’ve been stressing the importance of the financial sector during this 2nd-quarter earnings season.  On Tuesday Goldman Sachs reported better than expected earnings which pushed rates higher.  This morning JP Morgan reported better than expected earnings [...]