Mortgage Rates Down to Another 7 Month Low, But Just Barely

The most notable accomplishment for mortgage rates today was the fact that they moved by a normal amount compared to the previous day.  That's the first time that's happened in 7 days (the calmest, flattest 7 days in more than a year).

While that may be notable, it's not a very interesting headline.  For that, we have the good old "lowest rates since ____" formula.  In today's case, the blank would be filled by "May 2023."  

In and of themselves, the lowest rates in more than 7 months sound great.  They are great, to be sure, but not appreciably more so than several other days in the past 2 weeks.  Today's just happen to have inched below the previous low.  The average mortgage borrower would be seeing the same quote on either day.

One thing to keep in mind about today's decent improvement over yesterday is that there were no compelling justifications for the move in terms of economic data, news headlines, or scheduled events.  That suggests a bond market (bonds dictate rates) that is trading for reasons that transcend the typical "data dependent" mantra that has dominated the past few months.  It also suggests we're equally at risk of seeing moderate movement in the other direction in the next few trading days.