The Federal Reserve’s latest moves have created some uncertainty and confusion in the markets, and as we know, uncertainty creates volatility. While Fed Chair Jerome Powell hints at 3 potential rate cuts in 2024, Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic sees only one cut on the horizon. This disharmony among Fed members contributes to market volatility.
Sticky inflation and increasing U.S. debt contributed to mortgage rate volatility that had rates showing improvement mid-week, but moving higher by week’s end. The CPI (consumer price index) came in higher than expected last week, with housing and energy costs making the biggest splash. Not only did the higher inflation spook markets, but pushed the
Home buyers got a nice surprise last week as we saw mortgage rates improve just enough to draw interested buyers back into the market. And as we’ve seen in recent months, when rates improve, mortgage applications rise and this past week was no exception. According to the weekly survey of average mortgage rates published by Freddie
The upward trend that we’ve seen for rates over the last four weeks continued last week, according to the latest survey of average mortgage rates by Freddie Mac. Fortunately, the inflation data that came out last week – the PCE Index, which is the Fed’s favorite gauge of inflation – met expectations at 2.8 percent
Well, wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we start enjoying improved rates as we head into the Spring home buying season, the latest CPI (consumer price index) report spooks the bond and mortgage markets, and rates rise for the week. According to the latest survey of average rates by Freddie Mac, the rate for
Although mortgage rates have remained in a rather narrow range throughout the beginning of this year, we’ve seen a great deal of volatility as interest rates in the larger economy have moved all over the place since 2024 started. What’s going on that’s driving this volatility? By the looks of it, much of the volatility
Wow, what a wild ride for mortgage rates last week! Let’s unpack what happened and what it means for you. First, the Fed meeting adjourned on Wednesday afternoon, and as expected, they paused a hike of its key interest rate (called the Fed Funds Rate). The bond market reacted favorably, and as a result, mortgage
The positive economic readings of the last week – like robust retail sales, low unemployment, and healthy GDP (gross domestic product) – caused rates to tick up slightly, according to the latest survey of average rates by Freddie Mac. However, rates remain in a narrow range, not bouncing around too much. According to Sam Khater,
Mortgage rates have bounced around a bit over the past week, but still staying in a rather narrow range. However, whether this range is the highest rates will be in the near term or the lowest they’ll be in the near term depends on a few factors – most recent moves in the markets have
Mortgage rates continued to move sideways this last week, according to the latest survey of average rates published by Freddie Mac. After watching average mortgage rates drop by more than a percentage point in October and December, we all got excited to see rates continue to fall, but they haven’t. They also haven’t gone back
