So Much for Rising Rates?

Perhaps, all that hand wringing  about higher rates killing the mortgage market was overblown. This morning the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond was nearing 3.2% from 3.55% last week. But is the yield headed higher or lower? As I've noted before, if I were that smart I'd be a bond trader. But the key to the housing market turning around does not rest solely on the shoulders of rates. The other 'pillar' of determination is employment, and with most states facing huge budget deficits it only stands to reason that more states will shed workers in the year ahead. And there's still plenty of carpenters and construction workers seeking work — and without a prayer (I'm sorry to say) because home building is in the basement, thanks to an inventory "overhang"...