fed

Mortgage rates fall for the third straight week, but demand still drops further – CNBC

Mortgage rates fall for the third straight week, but demand still drops further  CNBC

Mortgage Rates Hold The Line Ahead of a Very Important Jobs Report

While the Federal Reserve doesn’t directly dictate mortgage rates, the outlook for Fed rate hikes matters a great deal.  In the days and weeks leading up to almost every Fed announcement in the past year, the market has had a very clear sense of how quickly the Fed would be hiking as well as the general levels at which it would likely be done hiking. That had been the case for the upcoming meeting as well.  There really hadn’t been any doubt that the Fed would continue to hike by 0.25% increments.  But several big ticket economic reports caused traders to rethink the outlook.  In fact, even Fed Chair Powell admitted that no decision has been made yet and things could change after the jobs report and next week’s inflation data. That makes Friday’s jobs report incredibly important for rate momentum in the short term.  The data will be released at 8:30am ET.  If it’s much stronger than expected, mortgage rates will likely be moving quickly higher.  If it misses forecasts, rates should fall.  Either move would be tempered by anticipation for next week’s CPI (consumer price index… a key inflation report that could have just as much of an impact. As for today, rates started out modestly higher, but most lenders ended up offering mid-day improvements that brought the average rate slightly below yesterday’s.

Why mortgage rates fell with a stronger jobs report

Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami explains we can still get a big jobs number while the unemployment rate increased.

Mortgage rates surpass 6 percent for the first time since 2008 – The Washington Post

Mortgage rates surpass 6 percent for the first time since 2008  The Washington Post

Why Strong Jobs Reports Are Pummeling the Stock Market

A good jobs report is traditionally good for the stock market — but that’s not so now, when the strong labor market is leading to stock market sell-offs.

Mortgage rates continue their climb

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage remained at its highest level since last November, increasing by 8 basis points from the prior week on the Federal Reserve’s aggressive posture on the economy, Freddie Mac said. Its Primary Mortgage Market Survey found the 30-year FRM at an average 6.73% for the seven days ended March 9, up … [Read more…]

Mortgage Rates Head Back Over 7% After Powell Testimony

Jerome Powell is the Chair of the Federal Reserve–the entity that sets overnight lending rates in an attempt to keep inflation in a low, stable range.  Inflation has been anything but low and stable recently, so the Fed has hiked overnight rates at the fastest pace in 40 years. Mortgage rates have also risen at the fastest pace in 40 years, but they are not directly dictated by the Fed.  Rather, the Fed’s direct influence on overnight rates spills over to the rest of the rate market.  The longer the duration of any given borrowing term, the less connected the interest rate may be to the Fed Funds Rate. Moreover, the market adjusts expectations for the Fed Funds Rate constantly whereas the Fed only officially hikes/cuts 8 times a year.  When the Fed meets again in 2 weeks, they will certainly be hiking rates again.  The only question is “by how much?”  Markets had been steadfast in their expectations for a 0.25% hike, which is viewed as the minimum increment for a rate change from the Fed.  With some recent data indicating plenty of economic resilience and persistent inflationary pressures, calls have increased for a 0.50% hike.   In a scheduled testimony before the Senate Banking Committee today, Fed Chair Powell stopped short of specifying a number for the next rate hike, but commented qualitatively on the need to hike faster/more than previously expected.  Markets consequently upped the odds for a bigger hike in 2 weeks as well as a higher ceiling expected by the end of 2023.

Mortgage rates headed past 7% after Powell warns Congress on inflation – Inman

Mortgage rates headed past 7% after Powell warns Congress on inflation  Inman