Mortgage Rates at December Highs

Mortgage rates continued to move a little bit upward after yesterday as we are now at the highest rates seen in December.  The most prevalently quoted conforming 30yr fixed rates for top tier borrowers  was at 4.00%, but some folks wanted the lower rate and opted for 3.875% with extra fees. 

We did have a light economic calendar today and an early close.  The key today was to see if the Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) could bounce back above that 50 day average that we smashed through yesterday.  We just barely closed back above it and there “might be” some hope to see that if there is any type of bounce next week.

The only major economic report today was the Initial Weekly Jobless claims which did drop and came in below expectations with another report under 300K (12 of the last 13 weeks).  The 7yr auction showed weaker demand with a lower bid to cover ratio.  This certainly follows the same trend as yesterday’s weak 5yr auction – but we did not see the same large sell off like yesterday as this was expected.

The 10yr did climb higher this morning up to 2.30%, but settled where it opened at 2.27%.

In summary, it is certainly not the way one would want to head into a holiday weekend, but just remember if you can, last December we were roughly ¾ of a point higher in rate with the 10yr touching all over the three mark.  With the recent sell off in bonds and MBS, rates have settled into a slightly higher realm but still in a great place to be.  We are touching upon the support levels, and I would not be surprised to see the rates dip back lower in the next few weeks, but if you are closing in the next two weeks, go ahead and lock.  Moves will continue to be exaggerated by lack of liquidity until early next year.

Remember, if you want to know the benefits of locking your rate today versus floating, simply give me a call at 314-744-7806 or visit my website at www.CallTheMoneyMan.com. I have access to real time Wall Street data and instant market alerts with breaking news that I monitor throughout the day to assist us on making the informed decision.