Glenn McCullom

Mortgage rates were unchanged from last week, but going forward, they are likely to decline following investors' reaction to the Federal Open Market Committee's July 31 short-term rate cut announcement.

Purchase mortgage applications continue to decline, falling to their lowest level since the start of the spring, as supply constraints limit homebuyer activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending July 26.

Bond market investors acted cautiously in the wake of next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting and that likely resulted in mortgage rates moving lower this past week.

Fewer consumers applied for mortgages last week even as interest rates declined by 3 to 4 basis points for all product types, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending July 19.

After three weeks of holding fairly steady, average mortgage rates ticked up this week, ironically due to investor optimism that the Federal Open Market Committee will cut short-term rates, according to Freddie Mac.

Higher interest rates led to a 1.1% seasonally adjusted decline in mortgage applications compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending July 12.

While mortgage rates remained unchanged this past week, further drops are possible as signs from the Federal Reserve point to a short-term rate cut at its next meeting.