Mortgage Resources

It's hard to avoid bad news about rising mortgage rates in 2022, but you can't believe everything you read.  It is true that mortgage rates have been surging higher in 2022.  The most recent newsletter goes into greater detail about the root causes, but in a nutshell:...

By the end of last week, there was a shred of hope that the worst might be over for 2022's massive rate spike. By Tuesday of this week, however, that hope was shredded.  Things only got worse from there. To understand why, we have to revisit the general motivation for...

Home prices have been on a tear since late 2020 despite generally higher rates in 2021. In the past few months, rates have upped the ante by surging at one of the fastest paces in history.  But in data just released this week, home prices are moving higher at an even...

While weeks in 2022 have been terrible for mortgage rates, we've always been able to say "at least it wasn't as bad as that one week in 2013." We can't really say that anymore. Sharply higher rates out of the gate on Monday, a few hopeful days mid-week, then another...

Mortgage rates are based on movement in the bond market, and as of the middle of this week, bonds had lost a good amount of ground every day for 8 straight days.  With that, the average 30yr fixed rate officially hit its highest level in 3 years.  That happened on the...

The Fed will hike its key policy rate for the first time since 2018 next week, but mortgage rates aren't waiting to move higher.  By the end of this week, they were as high as they've been in nearly 3 years. The mortgage market has long since moved on from caring...

Financial markets were already dealing with rapidly evolving Fed policy shifts, a big jump in rates, and a big drop in stocks. But after Russia invaded Ukraine, volatility has been on another level. As far as the mortgage market is concerned, the average 30yr fixed...

Russia's military operations in and around Ukraine over the past 3 weeks have created significant volatility for financial markets.  Interest rates were already in the throes of a major adjustment due to changes in the Fed policy outlook.  Geopolitical risk has been...

With things still up in the air in terms of geopolitical risk, markets are seeking safer havens.  Most recently, this is affecting stocks a bit more than bonds. This correlated movement is in line with conventional wisdom (i.e. buy bonds, sell stocks, or vice versa). ...