Mortgage Rates Little Changed From Monday

Mortgage rates are based on bonds and bonds, and bonds have some seasonality to them.  This doesn't necessarily mean there's a reliable seasonal pattern for the direction of rate movement.  Rather, it means that several weeks in August tend to be fairly forgettable in terms of excitement, volatility, and methodical movement.  The 2 most recent weeks arguably fit that bill.  Bonds (and, thus, rates) are still operating in the range seen in the 24 hours following the August 1st jobs report.  Mortgage rates have been in an even narrower range than the broader bond market.  For example, 10yr Treasury yields (often viewed as a benchmark for mortgage rate movement) are well over halfway back up to the levels seen before the jobs report.  Mortgage rates, meanwhile, aren't even a quarter of the way back. Specifically, 10yr yields were around 4.40% and fell to around 4.20% after the jobs report.  They're now back up to 4.30% and were as high as 4.35% yesterday.   Mortgage rates were 6.75% before the jobs report and fell as low as 6.53% afterward.  They're at 6.59% today (top tier scenario, average). There have been no major influences for rates so far this week and there aren't any major threats on the calendar of scheduled events until Friday at the earliest.  This doesn't mean rates can't move until then, only that they are not going to be moving in response to scheduled economic data.