Mortgage Rate Blog
Honest, plain-English market commentary from a licensed loan officer. New post every week so you know what's moving rates and what it means for your home loan.
Latest Posts
Rates Ticked Up This Week, but Bigger Loans Still Have a Cheaper Lane
The 30-year fixed rose to 6.76% per Mortgage News Daily, its highest in just over a week, as oil prices pushed Treasury yields higher. Why the jumbo-versus-conforming spread costs big borrowers real money, how high balance loans work under the 2026 loan limits, and the payment math on a $900,000 loan.
Read the full post →A Weak Jobs Report Just Sent Rates to 3-Week Lows: What It Means for Your Payment
Friday's July jobs report missed badly and the 30-year fixed dropped to 6.74% per Mortgage News Daily, its lowest since July 20. Why bad economic news is good rate news, the payment math on the move, and the smart play for buyers and refinancers before this week's inflation data.
Read the full post →What DTI Do You Need to Buy a Home? The First Number Lenders Check
Debt-to-income ratio kills more preapprovals than credit scores do, and the "43% limit" you read online isn't how modern underwriting works. Front-end vs back-end, the real limits for conventional, FHA, and VA in 2026, and a new free DTI checker that uses today's actual rate.
Read the full post →Rates Back Off Their Highs: What a 2-1 Buydown Actually Saves You
The 30-year fixed has eased to 6.75% per Mortgage News Daily, its lowest in over two weeks, with Friday's jobs report up next. How a 2-1 buydown works, what it saves in real dollars on a $400,000 loan, and who should ask for one.
Read the full post →It's Fed Day, What Today's Decision Means (and Doesn't) for Your Mortgage Rate
The Fed wraps its July meeting today with the 30-year fixed at 6.78% per Mortgage News Daily, just off a one-year high of 6.85%. Why the Fed doesn't set mortgage rates, what actually moves them, and what this month's climb costs in real dollars.
Read the full post →Inflation Cooled and Rates Fell, Time to Run Your Refi Math?
Rates went from 12-month highs on Monday to the week's lows by Friday, the 30-year fixed ended at 6.63% per Mortgage News Daily after June inflation came in much cooler than expected. Here's the refi break-even math, step by step, and what the dip means for buyers.
Read the full post →Rates Are Calm Before Tuesday's Inflation Report, Lock or Float?
The 30-year fixed is holding at 6.64% per Mortgage News Daily ahead of Tuesday's June CPI report. Here's how to think about locking versus floating when a market-moving number is one day away, with the dollar math on what a quarter-point actually costs.
Read the full post →Weak Jobs Report Sends Mortgage Rates Near Their 52-Week Lows
The 30-year fixed is at 6.59% per Mortgage News Daily, near the bottom of its 52-week range, after Thursday's jobs report came in much weaker than expected. What it means for buyers, and for anyone holding a rate that starts with a 7.
Read the full post →Rates Hold Steady in the Mid-6s, Why This Window Matters for Buyers
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits right around 6.65% this morning according to Mortgage News Daily. Here's what's keeping rates pinned in this range, and whether it's a good week to lock if you've been shopping.
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