Michael BeckerMortgage banker, WCS Funding Group, BaltimoreIn his testimony before Congress Wednesday morning, (Federal Reserve Chairman) Ben Bernanke initially warned of the negative effects to the economy of ending the latest round of quantitative easing too soon. Bonds rallied on that comment with the yield on the 10-year Treasury dropping to 1.88 percent.
Then when he was asked if he could rule out the tapering of bond purchases before Labor Day, Bernanke said he could not and bond yields spiked, with the 10-year Treasury yield jumping to 2 percent. I think this shows the extreme volatility in mortgage rates we are likely to see in the coming months with moves in interest rates being dependent on economic data. Over the next week, I see rates holding steady solely because of the big move in rates over the last couple of weeks.
David KuiperMortgage planner, First Place Bank, Holland, Mich.Rates moved up a bit this week, but they continue to trade in a very narrow range and remain very attractive.
Dick LepreSenior loan officer, RPM Mortgage, San FranciscoThe short-term techs of the 30-year Treasury bond future are mixed, with the daily about to turn bullish and the weekly having turned bearish last week. We could see modest improvement in the next few days. Keep in mind that the longer-term trend (the next eight months) is to higher yields.
Holden LewisAssistant managing editor, Bankrate.comAfter a run-up in early May, mortgage rates seem to have stabilized.
Greg McBride, CFASenior financial analyst, Bankrate.comThe Fed's bond-buying will continue, but mortgage rates won't pull back unless softer economic data appear.