There was a bit of behind-the-scenes volatility in the bond market today.  Normally, bond volatility translates to interest rate volatility. In some cases, the timing of the volatility is such that  has a minimal impact on mortgage lenders. Today was one of those days. Yesterday evening, news broke regarding a court ruling that would block the imposition of some recently announced tariffs.  Stocks rallied on the news and the bond market weakened (implying higher rates in the day ahead). But by this morning, much of the initial reaction had been reversed. After the somewhat soft economic data, bonds continued to improve. In general, weaker data is good for bonds/rates.  Today was no exception, but the weakness and the reaction was minimal. Markets had also successfully sniffed out the probability that the tariff ruling would be paused during the appeal process, something that likely helped fuel the overnight recovery.  The net effect is a modest drop in the average conventional 30yr fixed rate, back to levels seen on Monday afternoon.

How about those junk emails that start off with, “I’m not going to waste your time.” It already wasted my time. Is it a waste of time paying attention to what government officials say, or schedules that they give? Trelix’s Brett Parker noted, “Last year some in the industry were saying, ‘Stay alive until ‘25’ but now it could be ‘Stay in the mix until ‘26’.” Last week, no sooner did FHFA Director Bill Pulte say that 2026 could very well be the year that serious strides are made toward privatizing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (i.e., removing them from their 2008 conservatorship status) than a day or two later Donald Trump said that plans are underway. The “Oh, that’s just Trump being Trump” doesn’t quite fly in this case, given the Agencies role in the U.S. housing market and trillions of dollars of outstanding mortgage-backed securities. (More below.) (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Calque. Calque provides a binding backup offer on your borrower’s departing residence to clear the existing mortgage balance and closing costs in 48 business hours or less. And it costs less than other buy before you sell solutions. Hear an interview with Closed Title’s Kaylin Edwards on being a young person in the industry, what it’s like working on the escrow side of things, and the latest in the title space.) Software, Products, and Services for Lenders and Brokers Join ICE today for its monthly Mortgage Monitor webinar where you’ll gain critical insights into U.S. housing and mortgage market trends. The information presented in this preeminent, widely attended monthly webinar is based on the most current data available from ICE’s vast mortgage, housing, and property data assets, including the largest servicer-contributed loan-level database in the industry. Learn how borrower demand, housing affordability, interest rates, available equity, and other factors may impact your lending strategies. Register for the complimentary webinar which will be hosted today from 2 – 3 p.m. ET.

We have a primer in the MBS Live knowledge base regarding the potential for overnight news and bond trading to give a completely different impression of how the following day will eventually trade: Overnight trading makes no guarantees.  This seems applicable today.  Last night, markets began moving in one direction on news that a U.S. trade court “blocked” Trump tariffs. Now this morning, markets moved all the way back in the other direction, even before econ data came out.  Yes, there are times when big overnight headlines result in a logical move that is sustained the following day.  This is just not one of those times.  Bond traders are under no illusions that the court ruling will have a lasting impact on tariff policy.  Morning econ data added to the reversal with weaker claims and GDP garnering a small reaction.

In addition to continued claims coming in at the highest level since 2021, weekly initial claims have been drifting just slightly above their recent precedent, even after accounting for seasonal adjustment distortions.  This isn’t really news yet, but traders are watching for signs of a divergence from the typical annual path.  Even then, they’ll consider the lesson from 2024’s summertime spike and not get too carried away based on one data set. 

While overall investor purchase activity is returning to pre-pandemic norms, interest in condo units dropped to a 10-year low, as insurance and fees surged.

While more consumers claim they can’t tell whether now is a good time to purchase a home, over half of prospective buyers said the market is better than it was in 2024.

While mortgage originations increased, borrowers focused their attention on big-ticket items, as credit account balances flattened overall, Vantagescore said.

During its meeting last month, some members of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee expressed concern about persistent supply chain disruptions while others were confident price growth would be constrained.

The yield on 10-year benchmark Treasuries was up about three basis points following Wednesday’s sale, after earlier climbing more than five basis points.

Minimal Movement Amid Absence of Data

It was ultimately a fairly uneventful session for bonds with the 5yr Treasury auction serving as a “sell the rumor, buy the news” event.  In other words, traders were net sellers before the auction and then waded back into the market afterward.  The wading wasn’t as pronounced as the selling, but the net effect was negligible. Fed Minutes played no notable role in volatility. From here, tomorrow’s 7yr auction can play a similar role, but there will be more economic data to digest (both tomorrow and especially Friday). The dark horse market mover may end up being month-end trading, which can create significant swings for apparently no reason at all.

Market Movement Recap

09:38 AM Roughly unchanged overnight and weaker since 9am.  MBS down almost an eighth and 10yr up 3bps at 4.476

01:11 PM Slight bounce after 5yr auction, but still down almost an eighth in MBS and still up 3.4bps in 10yr yields at 4.479

02:26 PM No reaction to Fed Minutes.  MBS and Treasuries both right in line with previous update.

After moving moderately lower to start the new week yesterday, mortgage rates backtracked ever-so-slightly today.  Top tier conventional 30yr fixed rates remain just under 7% for the average lender.  They spent 3 days above that mark last week. Rates can move for a variety of reasons with some of the most common being surprising results in big economic reports. That was not a factor today.  Rather, as traders prepared for this afternoon’s auction of 5yr Treasuries, the rate market faced some headwinds. The securities that underlie mortgage pricing take major cues from US Treasuries. If investors are more hesitant to buy Treasuries, as they were this morning, it can put some upward pressure on all related rates. All that having been said, the pressure was small enough to be ignored in today’s case.  There will be higher-consequence economic data over the next 2 days and thus additional risk of bigger swings.