Mortgage News Daily and Freddie Mac offer conflicting reports on the bond market reaction Jerome Powell’s speech yesterday.

Mortgage News Daily says Mortgage Rates Surge Lower

Mortgage rates surged lower today, falling at the fastest single-day pace in more than a year. In order to see the average lender offer lower rates, you’d need to go back to October 2nd at least. For many lenders, it would be a few weeks before that. Granted, this merely restores rates to what had been 7-year highs at the time, but you know what they say about journeys of 1000 steps and what not…

Much of the improvement was driven by an ongoing reaction to a speech by Fed Chair Powell from yesterday.

Surge Defined

A surge is 9 basis points.

Freddie Mac says rates fell 13 basis points. But note the dates.

Freddie Mac posts mortgage data weekly, on Thursdays. Thus, the data is stale. After that table was posted Freddie Mac offered a different opinion.

Mortgage Rates Barely Move

Freddie Mac says Mortgage Rates Barely Move.

November 29, 2018

Mortgage rates stabilized the last couple of months as interest rate sensitive sectors such as new auto and home sales softened the outlook for the economy. Homebuyers pounced on the stability in rates as purchase mortgage applications increased, which indicates that despite higher mortgage rates this year there are buyers on the fence waiting for the right time to buy.

Ignore that galling bit of propaganda about homebuyers pouncing on rate stability as if buyers are coming back. They aren’t. Let’s step back and put this alleged surge into perspective.

Zero Reaction

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…