After spending more than a month holding fairly steady near 8-month lows, rates are moving quickly higher this week. Not only are the underlying reasons somewhat opaque but there are multiple media outlets reporting the “lowest mortgage rates of the year.” What’s really going on here?
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Rates Are Actually Much Higher This Week. Here's Why

A combination of low supply, great rates, slowly improving credit availability, and high demand has home prices soaring relative to expectations. Is this too much of a good thing?
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
New Home Prices Smash Record: Good or Bad?

The relationship between “Fed rate hikes” and mortgage rates can be confusing at first glance. After all, mortgage rates moved lower in the days and weeks following the past 3 Fed rate hikes. While they aren’t necessarily repeating the same pattern this time around, mortgage rates were nonetheless unfazed by this week’s Fed hike.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Making Sense of Lower Mortgage Rates Despite Fed Rate Hike

Mortgage rates are driven primarily by the bond market. Bonds can be a safe haven for investors if there are high-risk events on the horizon, or if headlines create a spike in uncertainty. If events pass without too much drama, and if uncertainty ebbs, investors move money back out of bonds, thus pushing rates higher. That was this week in a nutshell.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Absence of Drama Lifts Rates From 2017 Lows

Last week’s newsletter was all about the Fed Minutes, which showcased a fairly detailed strategy for reducing the size of the Fed’s balance sheet. It was generally more rate-friendly than investors expected. This week’s jobs report added fuel to the fire.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Jobs Report Adds Fuel to Fed's Fire