Rate Sheets

Bad news for Cincinnati rate shoppers and home buyers -- mortgage rate volatility is back. Last month, mortgage lenders issued nearly 2 rate sheets per day on average, the most rate sheets per day since August and the first increase since June when mortgage rates rose into the 6s. Since reaching an all-time low November 30, 2009, mortgage rates have changed 45 times. Here's what to do about it.

It's a terrific time to shop for a mortgage. Rates are scraping all-time lows and MBS volatility is fading. Mortgage rates are changing every 5 hours on average -- a molasses pace as compared to June and the slowest rate since March. Slow and low. That is the tempo. And it suits rate shoppers just fine.

Mortgage rates aren't changing as quickly as they did this summer, but they're still changing pretty quickly. Over the last two month, on average, lenders have updated pricing every 4 hours, 11 minutes. Over the last week, it's 3 hours, 20 minutes. It's tough to shop for mortgage rates at a time like this.

It appears that shopping for a mortgage rate isn't getting any simpler. For the 3rd consecutive 60-day period, mortgage lenders issued 2-plus rate sheets per day on average and rates changed once every 3 hours, 54 minutes. But for all of those updates -- surprisingly -- rates haven't really changed all that much.

Are mortgage rates going up? Are mortgage rates going down? I am a regular participant in the Bankrate.com Mortgage Rate Trend survey and this week's survey may point you in the right direction.
The Bankrate.com survey is for conforming mortgages only. It does not apply to FHA mortgages, VA mortgages, jumbo mortgages, or foreign national mortgages. [...]

For the second consecutive month, mortgage lenders issued 100-plus rate sheets in a 60 day period. That's 2.36 rate sheets per day, or roughly 0.64 less than the Magic Number. It's a ridiculously high number in the context of mortgage market history.

Mortgage rate volatility is back in a big way, folks. To put the pace of change in perspective, consider this: * In the last 60 days, lenders have issued 4 or more rates sheets in a day once per week * In the last 365 days, lenders have issued 4 or more rates sheets in a day once per month. The...

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