Mortgage rates were up again this past week in the Freddie Mac Weekly Survey and as mentioned in previous weeks are now at levels last seen 14 years ago. The 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage was at 6.7% in the Freddie Mac survey results and the 15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage was at 5.96%.
The Fed Funds Rate target rate also went up by another 0.75% last week. The Fed was expected this month to start reducing the amount of mortgage and treasury securities on its balance sheet by $95 billion every month, which they refer to as tapering or QT (quantitative tightening.) Just like its weak approach throughout the summer tapering, the Fed is off to a very unimpressive and tepid start. In fact, mortgages held by the Fed have gone up this month and total assets have only been reduced by $10 billion in the first three weeks of the month. More data comes out later today. (See charts below.)
Mortgage rates are likely to remain volatile in this uncertain environment as the Fed tries to navigate this last part of the year and regain some credibility. It remains difficult to predict what may happen to rates if or when the Fed starts to taper according to its actual plan.
(dynamic charts with current data)
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 data)
