Mortgage markets improved last week in low-volume trading. Between Monday to Thursday, Wall Street focused on the upcoming jobs reports and mortgage markets gained while traders jockeyed for position. Mortgage rates drifted lower through Thursday afternoon. But, then, after a better-than-expected Non-Farm...

Watch For Mortgage Rates To Rise Before April. CNBC Market Action: Breaking down the markets, with Ira Jersey, RBC Capital Markets and James Bianco, Bianco Research.

Mortgage markets improved last week as economic reports painted a less-than-stellar portrait of the U.S. economy and concerns of a looming monetary policy change eased. Mortgage pricing improved dramatically, despite a late-Friday retreat. Mortgage rates are now at their lowest levels since early-February. Last...

Mortgage rates are dropping this morning on weaker-than-expected Retail Sales data from December. Lower rates means more bang for your home-buying buck. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, December’s “ex-auto” sales receipts were down roughly $500 million from November. Analysts had...

Data was sparse through 2010’s first trading week last week, setting the stage for a week of momentum trading. In up-and-down trading, mortgage pricing improved overall but the best rates of the week didn’t last long. Rates improved Monday and Tuesday as an oversold market corrected itself...

FHA home loans are federal assistance mortgages made by lenders, and backed by the government. The FHA doesn’t make loans to homeowners — it insures loans made to homeowners by federally-qualified lenders. By all accounts, FHA home loans are surging in popularity. 2006, FHA insured 3.3%...

2010 is just a few days old and already the “experts” are making predictions for the year. Housing calls and mortgage rate predictions run the gamut: Home prices will fall in 2010 Home prices will rise in 2010 Mortgage rates will rise in 2010 Mortgage rates will rise by a lot in 2010 Given...

Fannie Mae raised the bar for mortgage applicants this past weekend.  Getting approved for a home loan just got harder. In its official announcement, Fannie Mae says the updates minimize long-term lending risks.  If that’s the case, this won’t be the last guideline change Fannie Mae...

Mortgage markets worsened for a second consecutive week last week amid debt default concerns and stronger-than-expected economic data. Dollars left the bond market and mortgage rates suffered. After re-reaching an all-time low December 1, mortgage rates have since rolled back to mid-November levels. Rates...

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...