Mortgage markets reeled Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its January 26-27, 2010 meeting. Mortgage rates are now at their highest levels since the start of the year. The Fed Minutes is a follow-up document, delivered 3 weeks after an official FOMC meeting. It’s...

The Federal Open Market Committee ends a scheduled, 2-day meeting today in Washington. It’s the first of 8 scheduled meetings for the policy-setting group in 2010. The group adjourns at 2:15 PM ET. As is customary, upon adjournment, the Fed will issue a press release to the markets recapping...

Both mortgage rates and home affordability took a turn for the better Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released its December 15-16, 2009 meeting minutes. The Fed Minutes is a follow-up piece to the post-FOMC meeting press release. But whereas the press release is succinct and to-the-point, the...

Mortgage markets finally reversed course last week, selling off with fury and causing prices to plummet. When bonds prices fall, rates rise. The action broke a multi-week winning streak, much to the disappointment of rate shoppers everywhere. Rate hikes came in stages. First, early in the week, mortgage...

This morning’s jobs report is causing mortgage rates to rise, capping a week during which rates have already jumped 3/8 percent off all-time lows. The government’s November Non-Farm Payrolls report reinforced the notion that the recession is nearly over, if not over already. Just 11,000...

Home affordability improved this week after the Federal Reserve released its November 3-4, 2009 meeting minutes. The FOMC Minutes is a companion to the Federal Reserve’s post-meeting press release. It’s released 3 weeks after the Fed adjourns and details the internal debates that shape...

Mortgage markets improved last week as foreign buyers of mortgage debt helped to push mortgage rates to a 4-week low. It marked the 3rd consecutive week that rates improved, breathing extra life into this year’s ongoing Refi Boom. Fixed-rate, conforming mortgage rates fell about 0.125 percent...

Mortgage markets improved slightly last week overall, but closed out the week much worse from the best levels of the week. On Wednesday, briefly, mortgage rates touched an 8-week low.  Following that, mortgage rates began to climb and stayed on an upward trajectory clear through Friday’s closing. Rate...

Mortgage Rates continued their nine (9) day accent posting 375bp for the week. Friday was the only negative day with the FNMA 30 YR 4.5% giving up only 9bp on a quiet day before the Holiday weekend.  The positive gains can be attributed to the negative pull back in the equities market. The DOW gave...