Last week saw an unexpected drop in rates as trade war headlines rocked financial markets. Things looked set to calm down this week, but the drama continued. This time around, mortgage rates were able to keep slightly better pace with the broader bond market. The result is a return to levels that are very close to the lowest in more than a year.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Rates Near Lowest Levels in Over a Year

10yr Treasury yields are widely thought to dictate mortgage rate movement. This week’s trade war headlines caused plenty of volatility and a general decline in Treasury yields, but mortgage rates had a hard time keeping up.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Why Aren't Mortgages Falling as Fast as Other Rates?

It was an action-packed week for financial markets. Earnings were in full swing. There was a ton of economic data to digest. And of course, there was the Fed announcement and press conference to cause volatility from Wednesday afternoon on. But one of the most interesting developments was the big bounce in Pending Home Sales on Tuesday.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Big Bounce in Home Sales And What it Could Mean For Prices

To understand what’s at stake in the week ahead, we need to understand where we are and where we’ve been. With that in mind, here’s a quick recap of the past year or so in global macroeconomics.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Housing Market Gearing Up For a Big Week Ahead

It’s never fun when this weekly newsletter has back to back headlines concerning rates moving higher, but facts are facts. The average lender is back in line with the highest levels since March 20th. What went wrong and are there any silver linings?
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Did Rates Get Too Good To Last?

While interest rates are always a topic of conversation in the housing and mortgage markets, everyone was talking about them last week. That tends to happen when the average 30yr fixed rate threatens to break into the high 3% range after a long absence. But just as quickly as the good times started to roll, rates bounced higher this week. Let’s take a look at the effects.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
After Massive Response Last Week, Are Low Rates Already Gone?

Since February 28th, the average mortgage rate quote for the average lender dropped by roughly half a percentage point. That makes March 2019 the best month for rates since the Fed first announced quantitative easing (the bond buying program designed to lower mortgage rates) in late 2008.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Best Month in a Decade For Mortgage Rates!

The future is always uncertain when it comes to financial markets and interest rate movement, but there are times where a certain series of events seems more likely. For most of 2019, mid-March looked to be one of those times.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Rates Dropping Fast as Home Sales Bounce Back

Market participants sensed that the Fed was suddenly changing its tune with respect to its balance sheet back in January.  The balance sheet primarily refers to all the bonds the Fed purchased as a part of the various Quantitative Easing plans conducted throughout the recovery to the Great Recession.  At the time, those QE plans technically involved “printing money.”
But it wasn’t just money dropped from helicopters.  The money was used to buy investments–in this case T
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
The Fed Officially Announces Big Bond-Buying Change

Mortgage rates dropped to new long term lows this week with the average lender at the best levels since January 2018. For the most part, we haven’t seen much volatility this year, but that could change soon.
Source: Kevin Litwicki Universal Lending
Lowest Rates in 14 Months And More Volatility Ahead