Mortgage Rates Rise, Ending Streak of Record Lows

Mortgage rates pushed higher this week, all but officially making the days of record-low rates a thing of the past.

After months of holding firm, even as Treasury yields steadily climbed, mortgage rates have finally relented in the past couple weeks, keeping pace with yields that have turned their steady jog upward into an all-out sprint. The sudden jump in yields was brought upon by several factors that have shifted investors’ outlooks and they appear simultaneously bullish and fearful on the state of the economy. Bullish on falling COVID-19 case counts and encouraging improvements in vaccine distribution, yet fearful that ambitious fiscal relief and accommodative monetary policy will result in higher inflation – something that would theoretically cause the Federal Reserve to scale back on their policies that have helped keep interest rates low.

The combination has pushed Treasury yields to their highest levels in a year and mortgage rates to their highest point since the summer. Rates are still very low by historical standards, but the ultra-low rate environment that became the norm in the second half of 2020 appears to have come to an end.

n