Mortgage rates dropped this week in the Freddie Mac Weekly Survey, as day-to-day the rates (and the bond market) continue to be volatile. The 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage was at 5.70% in today’s Freddie Mac survey results and the 15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage was at 4.83%.
Recently, the Federal Reserve raised the Fed Funds Rate target by 0.75% in addition to starting to reduce the amount of mortgage and treasury securities on its balance sheet, know as tapering. Based upon most recent data available, the Fed’s approach to tapering has been very weak as the balance sheet actually rose through most of June (see below) and they continue to pump money into banks at record levels in overnight operations (see below). Current indications point to at least a half-point fed funds rate increase in July. Mortgage rates are likely to remain volatile in this environment as a new normal emerges in the last half of the year. It’s still difficult to predict what may happen to rates if the Fed actually starts to taper in earnest.
Freddie Mac’s Weekly Survey was released this morning with its most recent assessment of the mortgage rate landscape. See the details of their survey below.
(dynamic chart with current info)
