Mortgage Rates Inch Lower, But Remain Broadly Sideways

"Sideways" has been the dominant theme for mortgage rates for well over a month now. The average top tier 30yr fixed rate fell below 6.82% on February 25th, and moved down to 6.70% the following week.  We haven't been outside of that range since then. Today was just another day in that regard, or perhaps even a prime example considering it was smack dab in the middle of that range.  While it's not always apparent by the time mortgage lenders set rates for the day, the underlying bond market continues experiencing volatility behind the scenes. Recently, that volatility often aligns with the stock market as investors react to the economic implications of fiscal policies.  This could cause more movement on Wednesday when tariff details are expected to come out. In addition, this week's economic data is more than capable of moving the needle--especially Friday's jobs report.  As always, there's no way to know which direction rates will move in response to key events.  If there were, investors would move in that direction before the event, thus taking the probability back to 50% for either outcome.