Rates in Line With 3-Week Lows; Home Prices Running Over 7% Annually; Flagstar Buying Some of Stearns

Mortgage rates moved lower again today as investors remained cautious amid political uncertainty at home and abroad. Stocks began the day higher but lost ground throughout the day--indirectly helping rates. That's not to suggest mortgage rates routinely take cues from stocks. Rather, slumping stocks and falling rates speak to the same underlying trends. Caution, fear, and the like, tend to increase demand for less risky assets like bonds. As demand for bonds increases (sometimes, at the expense of stocks--like today), rates fall. In and of itself, today's improvement was mild to moderate. But taken together with yesterday, the gains were more meaningful as they brought a majority of lenders back to quoting 30yr fixed rates of 4.125% on top tier scenarios. The transition from 4.25% is still

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/7/2631