Mortgages Rates improved very slightly in most cases today, though some lenders' rates were unchanged.  This follows a strong move lower by most lenders on Friday after a weaker-than-expected Jobs report.  There's a greater-than-normal variability between lender offerings, but in general, mortgage rates are near their best levels of the month.

The Best-Execution Conventional 30yr Fixed Rate is now in a transitional territory between 3.875% and 4.0% with the latter still constituting the best bang for the buck.  It wouldn't take many more days of improvement for 3.875% to vie for the Best-Execution title.

More lenders today joined the ranks of those who can offer no-closing-cost loans at 4.0% (assuming perfect circumstances), and 3.875% is increasingly becoming possible.  As always, keep in mind that we track best-execution rates based on an ideal scenario in order to have a static frame of reference to capture the day to day MOVEMENT of interest rates.  

(read more about Best-Execution calculations).  

Market movement today was uneventful to say the least.  More than a few market participants, both at home and abroad, were out for an extended holiday weekend.  Activity is expected to pick up tomorrow and more so into the rest of the week.  But today might as well have been a day off.  Bond Markets including MBS (the "mortgage-backed-securities" that most directly influence mortgage rates) were essentially flat all day long.

Given what we've recently witnessed with respect to interest rate movement, we're of the mind that every day spent near current levels is most safely viewed as an opportunity.  We don't know which direction rates will go next, but we do know their near historic lows and have had an increasingly difficult time moving much lower.  

We will say, however, that things are not looking as bleak as they were for most of the past 4 weeks.  There's more room for viewpoints other than "defensive," but this could be a passing phenomenon depending on how the rest of the week plays out.  Although tomorrow isn't immune from volatility, we're looking toward Wednesday's 10yr Treasury auction as the next major piece of guidance for bond markets in general.

Today's BEST-EXECUTION Rates 

• 30YR FIXED -  4.0%, with 3.875% creeping back
  
• FHA/VA -3.75%
  
• 15 YEAR FIXED -  3.25%-3.375%
  
• 5 YEAR ARMS -  2.625-3.25% depending on the lender
  

Ongoing Lock/Float Considerations 

• Rates and costs continue to operate near all time best levels
• We've recently spent time further away from the very best levels of the past few months having broken away from a long, stable trend.
• That led us to expect greater volatility, and indeed we got it!
• But now that volatility MIGHT be depositing us back at the edge of the old, stable range.  Whether it lets us back in or not, is another story.
• Rates could easily move higher or lower, but given the nearness to all time lows, there's generally more risk than reward regarding floating
• (As always, please keep in mind that our talk of Best-Execution always pertains to a completely ideal scenario.  There can be all sorts of reasons that your quoted rate would not be the same as our average rates, and in those cases, assuming you're following along on a day to day basis, simply use the Best-Ex levels we quote as a baseline to track potential movement in your quoted rate).