Rates Remain Over 7 Percent

Matthew Graham, writing for Mortgage News Daily says, Rates Remain Over 7% Despite Modest Improvement

The most important thing to know about mortgage rates so far this week is that they lived through last week.  Living through last week means rates reacted to surprisingly strong economic data by jumping well into the 7% range for conventional 30yr fixed loans.

We've been here before–just a few months ago, but not for very long.  Also, we haven't been much higher than this during in more than 20 years.  That said, many experts thought we might not be back here quite so soon–if at all during the same cycle.  

The x factor is the steady supply of data that shows stubborn inflation and persistent economic growth.  Rates will remain high until these things change.  We'll get a major update on the state of inflation this Wednesday morning with the release of June's Consumer Price Index (CPI), but even then, it will take several months of cohesive messaging in the data to definitively turn the tide for rates.

According to MND, mortgage rates jumped back above 7.0 percent on June 29, and have been there ever since. The "modest improvement" refers to a decline from 7.22 percent on July 6.