Mortgage rates

The "Sell America" trade that gripped markets this month has left a potentially lasting dent in investors' willingness to hold the US government's longest-maturity debt, a mainstay of its deficit-financing toolkit.

While the 30-year rate landed near its level of a week ago, it ended up there only after political developments led to up-and-down swings in Treasurys.

It is quite likely March's drop in the Purchase Application Payment Index will be transitory as mortgage rates have increased since the start of April.

Mortgage delinquency rates improved during the month, but the share of borrowers late 90 days or more grew as FHA credit quality deteriorated.

Long-maturity Treasury yields tumbled Wednesday as part of a broader rally in dollar-denominated risk assets, after US President Donald Trump said he wasn't inclined to fire the head of the Federal Reserve and suggested tariffs on Chinese imports could drop.

US mortgage rates rose again last week, reaching the highest level since mid-February and further depressing the appetite to buy homes or refinance loans.

President Donald Trump's threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have had a significant impact on financial markets, Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius said.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage average rose 21 basis points this week, lagging other indicators, which are all now lower than seven days ago.

The highly volatile interest rate environment will actually result in higher refinance mortgage volume than previous forecast for 2025 and 2026.

US mortgage rates jumped last week by the most since October on the back of heightened volatility in the Treasury market, causing a pullback in financing applications for home purchases and refinancing.

In a sign of how Treasuries' status as a global haven during times of turmoil may be fading, rates on longer-term debt soared last week as equities convulsed, turbocharging bets on a steeper yield curve.

President Donald Trump unleashes an all-out assault on global trade, the status of Treasury bonds as the world's safe haven is increasingly coming into question.

Freddie Mac reported a 2 basis point drop in mortgage rates, but other timelier measurements had the 30-year fixed close to or above the 7% mark.

Pres. Trump's decision to pause most of the tariffs has sparked a rally in the stock market, but the 10-year yield, while off of its peak, remains higher.

With prices possibly rising over 4% through next year, respondents to a Fall 2024 survey said they would turn to their investment portfolios to fund the down and monthly payments.

A pullback from US Treasuries sent longer-term yields surging by the most since pandemic struck in 2020, deepening losses in what's supposed to be a haven from financial turmoil and roiling markets abroad as investors sell government bonds to raise cash.

US mortgage rates fell to the lowest level since October, spurred by a rally in government bonds in the wake of an escalating trade war and driving home purchase applications to a more than one-year high.

Refinancings, particularly the cash-out version, helped to drive mortgage product availability and rate lock activity during March, separate reports found.

If mortgage rates drop into the low 6% range, there will be a retention opportunity on 5.4 million loans that have interest rates starting at 6.5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 2,200 on Friday, the second day of a sell-off due to tariffs, but that could be good for mortgage rates.