Mortgage and refinance rates today, Nov. 29, 2022

Today’s mortgage and refinance rates

Average mortgage rates just inched lower yesterday. That was typical of the tiny movements we’ve seen since their precipitous fall on Nov. 10. Indeed, if you add up all those tiny rises and falls, it turns out they’ve gone precisely nowhere since then.

So far this morning, it’s looking as if mortgage rates today might rise. But that could change as the hours pass.

Current mortgage and refinance rates

Should you lock a mortgage rate today?

Don't lock on a day when mortgage rates look set to fall. My recommendations (below) are intended to give longer-term suggestions about the overall direction of those rates. So, they don’t change daily to reflect fleeting sentiments in volatile markets.

It’s still looking to me to be more likely that mortgage rates will move higher than lower over the next few months.

So, my personal rate lock recommendations for the longer term remain:

• LOCK if closing in 7 days
• LOCK if closing in 15 days
• LOCK if closing in 30 days
• LOCK if closing in 45 days
• LOCK if closing in 60 days

>Related: 7 Tips to get the best refinance rate

Market data affecting today’s mortgage rates

Here’s a snapshot of the state of play this morning at about 9:50 a.m. (ET). The data, compared with roughly the same time yesterday, were:

• The yield on 10-year Treasury notes climbed to 3.74% from 3.68%. (Bad for mortgage rates.) More than any other market, mortgage rates typically tend to follow these particular Treasury bond yields
• Major stock indexes were mostly a little lower soon after opening. (Good for mortgage rates.) When investors buy shares, they’re often selling bonds, which pushes those prices down and increases yields and mortgage rates. The opposite may happen when indexes are lower. But this is an imperfect relationship
• Oil prices rose to $79.24 from $74.78 a barrel. (Bad for mortgage rates*.) Energy prices play a prominent role in creating inflation and also point to future economic activity
• Gold prices increased to $1,766 from $1,748 an ounce. (Neutral for mortgage rates*.) It is generally better for rates when gold rises and worse when gold falls. Gold tends to rise when investors worry about the economy.
• CNN Business Fear & Greed index — fell to 60 from 63 out of 100. (Good for mortgage rates.) “Greedy” investors push bond prices down (and interest rates up) as they leave the bond market and move into stocks, while “fearful” investors do the opposite. So lower readings are better than higher ones

*A movement of less than $20 on gold prices or 40 cents on oil ones is a change of 1% or less. So we only count meaningful differences as good or bad for mortgage rates.

Caveats about markets and rates

Before the pandemic and the Federal Reserve’s interventions in the mortgage market, you could look at the above figures and make a pretty good guess about what would happen to mortgage rates that day. But that’s no longer the case. We still make daily calls. And are usually right. But our record for accuracy won’t achieve its former high levels until things settle down.

So, use markets only as a rough guide. Because they have to be exceptionally strong or weak to rely on them. But, with that caveat, mortgage rates today look likely to rise. However, be aware that “intraday swings” (when rates change speed or direction during the day) are a common feature right now.

Important notes on today’s mortgage rates

Here are some things you need to know:

1. Typically, mortgage rates go up when the economy’s doing well and down when it’s in trouble. But there are exceptions. Read ‘How mortgage rates are determined and why you should care’
2. Only “top-tier” borrowers (with stellar credit scores, big down payments and very healthy finances) get the ultralow mortgage rates you’ll see advertised
3. Lenders vary. Yours may or may not follow the crowd when it comes to daily rate movements — though they all usually follow the broader trend over time
4. When daily rate changes are small, some lenders will adjust closing costs and leave their rate cards the same
5. Refinance rates are typically close to those for purchases.

A lot is going on at the moment. And nobody can claim to know with certainty what will happen to mortgage rates in the coming hours, days, weeks or months.

Are mortgage and refinance rates rising or falling?

There are a couple of big economic reports later this week that could move mortgage rates. Whether they do and the direction of travel that results depend on the data they contain.

Inflation

The first arrives on Thursday morning. It’s the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) report for October. And its price index is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. Markets are hoping that will confirm Nov. 10’s consumer price index (CPI) figures, which suggested that inflation is beginning to cool. If they show that CPI report was an outlier, expect higher mortgage rates. But if prices really are moderating we might see a fall.

Right now, inflation is the hottest topic among investors. They — and especially those in the market for mortgage bonds, which largely determines mortgage rates — hate it.

As importantly, they’re mindful of inflation’s effect on the Fed. The longer it lasts the longer the central bank is likely to continue hiking interest rates. That doesn’t directly affect mortgage rates, but it sure does so indirectly.

Yesterday, New York Fed President John Williams became the latest top Fed official to warn markets not to be over-optimistic about interest rates. He said he now expected them to peak next year at a higher point than he thought in September. And he predicted that they might begin to fall only in 2024.

So far, markets have shrugged off this and similar warnings. But, if they suddenly sit up and take notice, we could see higher mortgage rates at any time.

Employment

The second of this week’s key reports lands on Friday. And it’s the employment situation report for November. That will tell us about nonfarm payrolls (new jobs), the unemployment rate and average hourly earnings.

Mortgage rates always tend to fall on bad employment news — and rise when it’s good. But that effect might be magnified by its implications for the Fed. It would see rising unemployment as a sign its nasty anti-inflation medication is working. And, as long as jobs numbers remain stubbornly healthy, it might keep hiking interest rates.

It seems wrong to wish for higher unemployment. The unemployed are real people and joblessness is horrible. But it’s good for mortgage rates.

Other stuff

There are other economic reports due out this week. But they’re unlikely to affect mortgage rates unless they contain shocks.

There might also be other news from around the world. For example, the Xi administration’s insistence on maintaining its zero-Covid policy pushes the global economy closer to recession. And demonstrations among Chinese people against it might make matters worse, no matter how admirable they are.

So far, China’s problems have affected U.S. stock markets but not mortgage rates. That could change. And, if it does, it might push them lower.

However, remember my warning in yesterday’s report. Most experts are expecting mortgage rates to rise above 7% again within weeks. Inflation, employment, the Fed and China might yet prove them wrong. But don’t bank on it.

For more background, please read the weekend edition of this report.

Recent trends

According to Freddie Mac’s archives, the weekly all-time low for mortgage rates was set on Jan. 7, 2021, when it stood at 2.65% for conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages.

Freddie’s Nov. 23 (early for Thanksgiving) report put that same weekly average at 6.58%, almost imperceptibly down from the previous week’s 6.61%.

Recently, Freddie stopped including discount points in its forecasts. It has also moved later the time of day at which it publishes its Thursday reports. And, from now on, we'll be updating this section on Fridays.

Expert mortgage rate forecasts

Looking further ahead, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) each has a team of economists dedicated to monitoring and forecasting what will happen to the economy, the housing sector and mortgage rates.

And here are their rate forecasts for the current quarter (Q4/22) and the first three quarters of next year (Q1/23, Q2/23 and Q3/24).

The numbers in the table below are for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages. Fannie’s forecast appeared on Nov. 22, the MBA’s on Nov. 23 and Freddie’s on Oct. 21. Freddie now publishes its forecasts quarterly and its figures can quickly become stale.

Of course, given so many unknowables, the whole current crop of forecasts might be even more speculative than usual. And their past record for accuracy hasn’t been wildly impressive.

Find your lowest rate today

You should comparison shop widely, no matter what sort of mortgage you want. As federal regulator the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says:

“Shopping around for your mortgage has the potential to lead to real savings. It may not sound like much, but saving even a quarter of a point in interest on your mortgage saves you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.”

Mortgage rate methodology

The Mortgage Reports receives rates based on selected criteria from multiple lending partners each day. We arrive at an average rate and APR for each loan type to display in our chart. Because we average an array of rates, it gives you a better idea of what you might find in the marketplace. Furthermore, we average rates for the same loan types. For example, FHA fixed with FHA fixed. The end result is a good snapshot of daily rates and how they change over time.