Mortgage rates seem to be one of the more consistent and stable economic factors that we’re following these days. According to the latest issue of HSH’s Market Trends Newsletter, “Rates Still ‘Exceptionally Low‘,” the conforming 30-year fixed rate closed our survey week at 5.13% at a quarter-point fee level.

“The Federal Reserve re-committed to keeping the short-term interest rates it controls at ‘exceptionally low’ levels for an undefined ‘extended period of time.’ Along with the extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit, these important supports should help the housing market to continue to stabilize, and may even serve to promote some refinancing activity, too.”

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Some economists have said that the “new normal” won’t be like anything that we were used to before the financial crisis. However, that may not be the case for all economic indicators. Things got a little more “normal” last week when the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit the 10,000 mark and when Treasury yields began to once again influence the direction of conforming rates.

According to the latest issue of HSH Market Trends Newsletter, “Dow Ten-thou, and Rates Nudge Higher“: Read the rest of this entry »