News on Mortgage Rates

Investors and the mortgage market had hoped for more clarity this past Friday on whether the Federal Reserve will cut short term rates by a quarter or a half point at its September meeting. But that did not happen because the data released Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was mixed.

The US Economy added 142,000 jobs last month which was below expectations, but the unemployment rate decreased which was also not expected. Friday’s jobs report numbers still most likely tees up at least a quarter point cut from the Fed when it meets September 17-18. But many were hoping for a half percent cut.

Long Term Rates

As I have written many times in the past, long term rates such as mortgages are based on market expectation. So this mixed bag of a jobs report does not give us any additional clarity on the future direction of mortgage rates.

Please contact me if you have any questions.