Mortgage Rates Steady at Recent Lows

Mortgage Rates Steady at Recent Lows

Mortgage rates held steady in most cases today, though several lenders continued to improve. The average lender is at least down to 3.75% in terms of conventional 30yr fixed rates on top tier scenarios, but many are already back to 3.625%. Yesterday's strong gains came courtesy of a speech from Fed Chair Yellen, and today provided an opportunity for financial markets to confirm their intentions. If the Yellen-inspired drop in rates was going to be a temporary knee-jerk movement, we would have seen evidence of that today. As it stands, this sideways movement is the market's way of getting comfortable with heading back toward lower rates.

It's not necessarily a given, but the point is that it hasn't been ruled out. Whether or not we can remain in this range (or better) may be determined with Friday's big jobs report. It's not so much the level of job creation as it is the potential for a big surprise in wage growth that could affect rates. More wage growth would cause an increase in inflation expectations, which is the Fed's toughest opponent when it comes to raising rates.