Mortgage Rates Lowest in July; NAR/NAHB Applaud Flood Insurance Renewal; Significance of Light Volume

Mortgage Rates Lowest in July; NAR/NAHB Applaud Flood Insurance Renewal; Significance of Light Volume

Mortgage rates moved lower today, setting yet another new low for the month of July. For the past 2 weeks, rates have been pushing back against a fairly abrupt spike that took place heading into the month. Concerns over the European Central Bank's (ECB's) bond buying plans sparked the move higher, but those concerns were officially put to rest as of yesterday. In simpler terms, extra demand for bonds pushes bond prices higher and rates lower. The ECB buys LOTS of bonds. This puts downward pressure on rates around the world (more so in Europe than in the US, but we still get some indirect benefit). There was some concern at the end of June that the ECB was getting closer to announcing it would buy fewer bonds (thus the rate spike heading into July). While that day will likely come eventually