by Calculated Risk on 3/21/2018 07:29:00 PM

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Higher, Then Lower After Fed Announcement

Mortgage rates rose to new 4-year highs this morning as lenders took a defensive stance ahead of the afternoon's Fed Announcement. The caution proved to be warranted, at least at first, as bond markets reacted negatively to the first phase of Fed-related information. ... When new Fed Chair Jerome Powell began his press conference half an hour later, bond markets (which underlie rates) began to improve. Just over an hour after the initial drama, bonds moved into moderately positive territory on the day and most lenders offered positively-revised rate sheets (i.e. stronger bond markets allowed mortgage lenders to drop their rates). After those reprices, the average lender returned in line with yesterday's rates (which are still pretty close to 4-year highs, but a welcome sight after this morning's offerings). [30YR FIXED - 4.5-4.625%]
emphasis added

Thursday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released.  The consensus is for 225 thousand initial claims, up from 226 thousand the previous week.

• At 9:00 AM, FHFA House Price Index for January 2018. This was originally a GSE only repeat sales, however there is also an expanded index.

• At 11:00 AM, the Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey for March.