Concerns about economic growth were the primary influence on mortgage rates this week. With mostly weaker than expected data coming out during the week in the US and around the world, mortgage rates moved to new record low levels. Friday’s release of the monthly Employment report revealed a weak level of job growth, which was […]

Events in Europe were the primary influence on mortgage rates again this week. The Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of Obama’s health care plan had little impact on rates.Mixed US economic data and weak Treasury auction demand also caused little reaction. Mortgage rates ended the week a little lower.For most of the week, expectations for […]

Despite historic Greek elections and a highly anticipated Fed meeting, it was a surprisingly quiet week for mortgage rates, since neither event shed much light on investors’ primary questions. As a result, mortgage rates ended the week with very little change. Investors hoped that the two big events this week would remove some of the […]

Investors were focused on events in Europe this week, ahead of Sunday’s Greek elections. The US economic data released during the week was generally weaker than expected. Anticipation of action by global central banks helped mortgage rates end the week a little lower. The highly anticipated elections in Greece will take place on Sunday, and […]

Following a large improvement in mortgage rates and a large decline in stocks last week, investors partially reversed direction this week. The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Fed were the main focus, providing a degree of comfort, and investors were a little more willing to take on risky assets. This was negative for bonds, […]

Weaker than expected US economic data and continuing concerns about Europe were positive for mortgage rates, which declined to record low levels this week. Nearly all of the economic data released this week, including GDP, ISM Manufacturing, Consumer Confidence, and Pending Home Sales, fell short of expectations. Most significantly, for the third consecutive month, the […]

This week’s economic news contained few surprises. The US economic data was mixed, and demand was close to average for the Treasury auctions. Mortgage rates ended the week just a little higher, after reaching an all time record low last week. The slow pace of global economic growth and the uncertainty in Europe support these […]

Once again, the primary influence on mortgage rates was the uncertainty in Europe. Mixed economic data released this week was roughly neutral. Investors seeking relatively safer assets pushed stocks lower and mortgage rates to record low levels. In Europe, the focus was primarily on Greece this week. Greek political leaders remained very divided and were […]

This week saw increasing uncertainty in Europe, leading to lower stock prices and strong demand for the US Treasury auctions. Ordinarily, these factors would result in improved mortgage rates, but mortgage rates ended the week nearly unchanged from last week. In closely watched elections on Sunday, voters in France and Greece strongly favored the candidates […]

Increased concerns about the troubles in Europe had the biggest influence on mortgage rates this week. As usual, investors reacted by shifting to relatively safer assets including US mortgage-backed securities (MBS), and mortgage rates again ended the week a little lower. Spain has been the focus in Europe recently, but issues emerged this week from […]