09/10/2015
Mortgage rates were not able to build on yesterday's modest improvements. Most lenders ended up back in line with their worst recent levels. Thankfully, that's not saying much considering the exceptionally narrow range. Indeed most borrowers won't even detect day-to-day movement this week as contract interest rates haven't even been affected. That means that any mention of "rates" moving higher or lower is a reference to the changes in upfront borrowing costs. Those costs have a bearing on the effective rate, but not the actual NOTE rate on the loan.
Lenders continue to quote conventional 30yr fixed rates of 4.0% most frequently with some top tier scenarios still seeing 3.875%.
If there's one place to assign blame for this general lack of movement, it's next week's Fed Announcement. Even though the Fed rate does NOT dictate mortgage rates, and even though there's no guarantee the Fed will make any changes, the wide range of potential outcomes has financial markets feeling anxious. This is especially true of interest rates. Investors who buy and sell the bonds that ultimately dictate consumer rates prefer to stay nimble so they can react to whatever ends up happening next week. This is a situation that greatly decreases the incentive for floating. The biggest risk and reward would be for those thinking about rolling the dice beyond next Wednesday Fed Announcement.
