Real Estate News & Tips for Central Texas
Mortgage Rates Back Up And Over 7.5%
A mortgage rate is highly subjective and can vary for a variety of reasons. A news story that provides an outright level like 7.5% requires context and qualification. Some online advertisements (especially among builders) could still be showing rates in the high 6's. Some borrowers
Mortgage Rates Sideways to Slightly Lower to Start New Week
Mortgage rates didn't change much at all over the weekend with the average lender still in the highest territory since November. The average conventional 30yr fixed rate is just under 7.5% for top tier scenarios. Things could end up changing quite a bit by the end of this week owing to a slew
Mortgage Rates Recover Some of Thursday's Weakness After Friday's Economic Data
As 2024 has progressed, economic data--especially inflation data--have made it increasingly clear that rates will not be coming down nearly as soon as the Fed (and the market) expected. Rates are driven by multiple factors. At present, inflation is chief among those, followed by the econo
Mortgage Rates Jump Up And Over 7.5% After Inflation Surprise
Interest rates care about quite a few different things, but inflation and Fed policy are two of the biggest considerations. One of the Fed's favorite ways to track progress on inflation is the PCE price index which comes out every month, but also every quarter. Oddly enough, the quarterly come
Mortgage Rates Pleasantly Stable Despite Some Bond Market Weakness
The average mortgage lender was able to offer conventional 30yr fixed rates that were very close to yesterday's levels despite bond market movement that suggested a bigger spike. In a vast majority of cases, if the bond market is in weaker territory compared to the previous day, rates will be
Mortgage Rates Lowest in a Week
Mortgage rates are driven by day to day changes in the bond market. Bonds are focused on the Fed and the economic data that shapes Fed decisions. Today's data isn't necessarily big on the Fed's radar, but the market reacted due to its implications on other data. Specifically, the S&P
Mortgage Rates Essentially Flat Just Under 5 Month Highs
Mortgage rates began the new week at almost exactly the same levels seen at the end of last week. There were no major events or economic reports to cause volatility in the underlying bond market, but bonds were able to improve modestly by the end of the day. In general, bond market improvement
The Case of The Disappearing Rate Cuts
The Fed expected to be able to cut rates 3 times in 2024 as recently as March. Financial markets agreed. But the data that's come out since then has everyone singing a different tune. This week's data was more of an afterthought compared to last week's. The chart above pertains to Fed rate exp
Mortgage Rates Higher Today, But Not Quite as High as Tuesday
Tuesday marked the highest mortgage rates since November, capping a mini surge that began after last week's inflation data. After a moderate improvement yesterday, rates moved back up toward (but thankfully not above) the recent highs today. Financial markets reacted to stronger economic data