Brandy Gargis

10/09/2026

Mortgage Rates Officially at 2 Week LowsEven though the underlying bond market is in slightly weaker shape today, mortgage rates ended up trickling just a bit lower than yesterday's latest levels. This can happen on occasions when there is a strong rally late in the previous day. Mortgage lenders don't end up passing along all of that improvement in rate sheets and some of them decide to wait for the following day to make the adjustments. In addition, this morning's slightly weaker bond market performance reversed course around 11am and paved the way for multiple lenders to adjust their rates lower over the past few hours. The net effect is a move down to 7.48% for the average to-tier 30yr fixed rate, just barely edging out the 7.49% seen on the morning of October 2nd to claim the lowest spot since September 25th. Bears/pessimists will be quick to note that this is still massively higher than we were at the end of august when rates were 6.75%. Nonetheless, it's the strongest counterattack we've seen since then. [thirtyyearmortgagerates]

Even though the underlying bond market is in slightly weaker shape today, mortgage rates ended up trickling just a bit lower than yesterday's latest levels. This can happen on occasions when there is a strong rally late in the previous day. Mortgage lenders don't end up passing along all of....

10/08/2026

⛈️ Paused your home search because of the rates? What if your mortgage rate could be lower and nobody told you? A couple of options, explained in plain English. 👇
— Brandy Gargis, Associate Broker, BrickDriven Realty 📲 256.762.1694

10/07/2026

Mortgage Rates Started Much Higher But Almost Fully RecoveredIt was an exciting day for mortgage rates, and while we technically ended up slightly higher, it could have been much worse. In fact, it WAS much worse earlier in the day, but only for about 30 minutes. Our daily rate index can be updated throughout the day if mortgage lenders change their rates in sufficient numbers. If we reported only the day's opening rate sheets, top-tier 30yr fixed rates would have been over 7.7%. Almost immediately after those initial rates came out (around 9:30am ET), the bond market started to recover. By 11am, multiple lenders had already improved. There was an additional round of improvement in the afternoon with almost every lender dropping their rates at least once (many of them more than once) by the end of the day. The net effect: today's average top-tier 30yr fixed rate rose only 0.03% versus yesterday to 7.59%--safely under recent highs.

It was an exciting day for mortgage rates, and while we technically ended up slightly higher, it could have been much worse. In fact, it WAS much worse earlier in the day, but only for about 30 minutes.  Our daily rate index can be updated throughout the day if mortgage lenders change their...

10/06/2026

Mortgage Rates Near 1-Week LowsMortgage rates actually fell today--something they've done only 7 times since August 25th. While the outright levels remain near the highest since 2003, they're near the lowest in just over a week with top-tier 30yr fixed rates down to 7.56% for the average lender. What gives? Is this a sign that recent upward momentum is starting to wane? It's too soon to conclude such things, but it is somewhat encouraging that yesterday's long-term high was basically right in line with the high seen on September 30th (7.61 vs 7.60). This is the sort of "double top" behavior that some analysts look for when trying to identify momentum shifts. Bottom line: it's too soon to start celebrating. But it's better than the average day of late. [thirtyyearmortgagerates]

Mortgage rates actually fell today--something they've done only 7 times since August 25th. While the outright levels remain near the highest since 2003, they're near the lowest in just over a week with top-tier 30yr fixed rates down to 7.56% for the average lender. What gives? Is this a sign...

10/05/2026

Mortgage Rates Inch Up to Another Recent HighThe good news is that today's average top-tier 30yr fixed rate ended only 0.01% higher than last week's high (7.61 vs 7.60). If you are only interested in good news, have a great rest of your Monday and you're free to go. The rest of the news isn't terrible, but we we can't classify it as "good." Bonds lost ground today and, as has been the case on many recent occasions, there weren't any new, obvious scapegoats. On a vast majority of days when rates make a move, there's a decent enough case to be made for some underlying cause. These days however, it's increasingly common to have to fall back on generalities like the following (warning: the list can be esoteric in parts, for those who aren't bond nerds):
Iran War's implied impact on inflation and Treasury issuance
Elevated Treasury issuance (fiscal imbalances)
Elevated corporate bond issuance (competes for investor demand)
Resilient stocks (competes for investor demand)
Generally/gradually lower foreign demand (partly driven by tariffs and weaker trade relationships)
Genuine strength/resilience in economic data
A Federal Reserve that is willing to use the Fed Funds Rate to fight inflation (not the perfect tool, but it's the tool they have)
None of these bullet points received a big new dose of information today, though that doesn't mean investors can't react to them over time. In addition, the bond market may be somewhat anxious ahead of this week's scheduled Treasury auctions, but we'll cross that bridge if we come to it (it's been a while since a Treasury auction cycle had a legitimately big impact on rate momentum).

The good news is that today's average top-tier 30yr fixed rate ended only 0.01% higher than last week's high (7.61 vs 7.60). If you are only interested in good news, have a great rest of your Monday and you're free to go. The rest of the news isn't terrible, but we we can't class...

10/01/2026

Solid Mid-Day Recovery For RatesIt's a rarity these days, but mortgage rates actually moved lower today by more than a token amount. The average top-tier 30yr fixed rate fell to 7.54% from 7.60% yesterday. There are multiple potential factors in play when it comes to explaining the underlying bond market rally, but none of them stand out as an obvious singular motivation. For those curious, the list (which has several esoteric factors that we won't be fully explaining here) includes, but is not limited to:
traders covering bets on higher rates ahead of tomorrow's jobs report
concerns over European bond market contagion focused on France and Italy
reassuring comments from Fed speakers helping Fed rate expectations move lower
technical buying opportunity when Treasury yields hit 5.34% (10yr)
A day like today invites consideration about bigger picture ceilings, but it will need to bring friends in order for that conversation to continue. We are bound to see periodic sighs of relief any time rates move higher as relentlessly as they have in the past month. Tomorrow's jobs report is as likely as anything to set the tone for the rest of that conversation. If job growth is much stronger than expected, the conversation is over until further notice. If it's much weaker than expected, we'll talk.

It's a rarity these days, but mortgage rates actually moved lower today by more than a token amount. The average top-tier 30yr fixed rate fell to 7.54% from 7.60% yesterday. There are multiple potential factors in play when it comes to explaining the underlying bond market rally, but none of the...

09/30/2026

Mortgage Rates End Day Higher Despite Promising StartFor a few moments this morning, it looked as if rates might buck the recent trend and recover a bit of ground today. The underlying bond market was fairly flat overnight and then managed to improve after this morning's PCE inflation data. But that improvement was short-lived. Top tier 30yr fixed rates jumped to 7.60%. That's only 0.02% higher than yesterday, but yet another long-term high. As frustrating as it continues to be, there are no convenient scapegoats for the reversal in terms of intraday news/data. Some small case could be made that the day's economic data wasn't exactly rate-friendly, but the timing of the market movement and indicators elsewhere in the market suggest that's a waste of time. The only irrefutable way to connect cause and effect is to use broad strokes. The bond market is in the midst of a fairly rapid reassessment of the outlooks for Fed policy, inflation, and the supply/demand equation for government debt. Today may have seen some additional volatility due to the mechanics of the month/quarter-end trading environment, but not to the extent that anyone should expect rates to magically fall just because tomorrow is a new month. A meaningful drop in rates will require one or more of these things:
Iran war ending and fuel prices dropping
economic data weakening
inflation falling significantly and sustainably
There are other things that can help/hurt, but these are the big three at the moment. [thirtyyearmortgagerates]

For a few moments this morning, it looked as if rates might buck the recent trend and recover a bit of ground today. The underlying bond market was fairly flat overnight and then managed to improve after this morning's PCE inflation data. But that improvement was short-lived.  Top tier....

09/29/2026

Mortgage Rates Rise to 7.58%Mortgage rates moved higher again on Tuesday as the bond market continues recalibrating expectations for Fed policy, economic growth, and inflation. The weakness is especially frustrating considering a fairly large drop in oil prices today, but as we discussed yesterday, rates have a lot more on their mind than oil these days. Our top-tier 30yr fixed rate index rose from 7.50 to 7.58% today--the highest since November 1st, 2023. In this sense, mortgage rates are doing much better than their often-cited benchmark, the 10yr Treasury yield, which is the highest level since 2007. That's because mortgage rates are directly based on mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and not U.S. Treasuries, and MBS have been outperforming Treasuries relative to 2023's levels. Today's economic data didn't offer meaningful relief although it wasn't a driver of today's upward pressure. We're seeing more and more evidence that at least some of that pressure has to do with factors such as the quarter-end trading environment which transcends news headlines and economic reports. This doesn't necessarily mean that rate momentum will reverse on October 1st, but the month could at least restore a more logical relationship between typical causes and effects.

Mortgage rates moved higher again on Tuesday as the bond market continues recalibrating expectations for Fed policy, economic growth, and inflation. The weakness is especially frustrating considering a fairly large drop in oil prices today, but as we discussed yesterday, rates have a lot more on the...

09/28/2026

Mortgage Rates Officially Hit 7.5%Despite Friday afternoon's promising bond market rally and mortgage rate improvement, today's top tier 30yr fixed rate bounced back up. The average lender is now at 7.50% for the first time since April 30, 2024. While there's been a lot of short-term correlation between oil prices and interest rates over the last 6 months, oil does a poor job of explaining much of the recent upward momentum in rates. At times today, it seemed that the higher rates coincided with higher oil prices, but oil fell all the way back to Friday afternoon's levels at one point while rates remained elevated. The other factors are a laundry list of usual suspects: strong economic data, anxiety regarding incoming data being stronger as well, supply/demand issues in the Treasury market, elevated bond market supply in general, etc. That said, there weren't any major new developments for that laundry list today. [thirtyyearmortgagerates]

Despite Friday afternoon's promising bond market rally and mortgage rate improvement, today's top tier 30yr fixed rate bounced back up. The average lender is now at 7.50% for the first time since April 30, 2024.  While there's been a lot of short-term correlation between oil pri...

09/25/2026

Mortgage Rates Had a Better Day, But Still Moved HigherMortgage rates have risen more than half a point in 2 weeks. While that's certainly not the fastest jump we've seen, it is an extraordinarily uncommon pace--happening less than once per year on average (i.e. it only happened 3 times between 2010 and 2019). Today's increase was modest in the bigger picture, adding only 0.04% to yesterday's levels and leaving the average top-tier 30yr fixed rate still just a hair below 7.50%. This is roughly in line with the highs from early 2024 and still well below the highs of 8% seen in October 2023. Much of today's 0.04% increase can be thought of as a hangover from yesterday's volatility. In fact, the underlying bond market actually improved day-over-day. That's something that typically coincides with mortgage rates moving lower. Whether it means anything about the road ahead is a different matter. If traders knew what the road ahead looked like with any certainty, they wouldn't sit on their hands and lose money between now and then. In other words, anything that you or I can conclude about the near-term future is already priced-in to current levels. The next leg higher or lower for rates will likely be determined by a combination of economic data that hasn't come out yet and war-related headlines that could either help or hurt the fuel price outlook. Next week is a big week for econ data and every week brings new potential for oil price fluctuations these days. In addition, the month/quarter end trading environment increases the risk of volatility regardless of directional cues from data/events.

Mortgage rates have risen more than half a point in 2 weeks. While that's certainly not the fastest jump we've seen, it is an extraordinarily uncommon pace--happening less than once per year on average (i.e. it only happened 3 times between 2010 and 2019). Today's increase was modest in...