Mortgage Rates Had a Better Day, But Still Moved Higher

(NOTE: This article was updated  at 5:30pm from the version originally published at 2:36pm ET to reflect late day rate improvements). 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 initial 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 that initial 0.04% increase can be thought of as a hangover from yesterday's volatility. In fact