While some lenders were slightly better or worse versus yesterday, mortgage rates were unchanged on average today.  This isn't much of surprise considering yesterday's much-anticipated healthcare vote never happened.  It's rumored to occur this afternoon, but markets won't have much time to react before closing for the weekend.  If you need to get caught up with the healtchare news and the mortgage rate implications, check out yesterday's article.

The bottom line of all this political drama is that it's not about healthcare!  It's about investor confidence in the Trump administration's other policy promises.  If the healthcare deal fails (or is significantly changed), investors will lose hope for the tax cuts promised during the campaign.  That would likely be bad for stocks and good for rates.  Until that vote of confidence can be resolved, there's not much motivation for rates to move from their recent perch with top tier 30yr fixed quotes averaging 4.125-4.25%

Today's Best-Execution Rates

• 30YR FIXED - 4.25%
• FHA/VA - 4.0-4.25%
• 15 YEAR FIXED - 3.5-3.625%
  
• 5 YEAR ARMS -  2.75 - 3.25% depending on the lender

Ongoing Lock/Float Considerations

• Some investors are increasingly worried/convinced that the decades-long trend toward lower rates has been permanently reversed, but such a conclusion would require YEARS to truly confirm
  
  
• Still, it would take something very big and unexpected for rates to make a big, sustained push back toward pre-election levels.   Even then, it would take time to confirm such a shift.
   
• With fiscal and monetary policy paths both clearly putting pressure on rates, at least one of those would need to make a noticeable change before anything but a cautious, lock-biased approach makes sense as a baseline strategy.  Floating should only be considered as a tactical opportunity to capitalize on temporary corrections. 
   
• Rates discussed refer to the most frequently-quoted, conforming, conventional 30yr fixed rate for top tier borrowers among average to well-priced lenders.  The rates generally assume little-to-no origination or discount except as noted when applicable.  Rates appearing on this page are "effective rates" that take day-to-day changes in upfront costs into consideration.