Mortgage rates fell to their lowest levels in a month this week before recovering slightly, driven down by increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran causing investors to seek safer assets. A lack of meaningful changes to key data series over the past week means that nearly all of the market's movements were dictated by geopolitical events.
Bond yields and mortgage rates fell in the immediate aftermath of escalated tensions between the U.S. and Iran, but rebounded somewhat after fears of a larger conflict between the two nations appeared to dissipate slightly (at least for now). Rates generally trended lower throughout the holiday season, with little in the way of sudden movements or notable volatility.
But volatility may return in coming days, potentially as soon as Friday's release of December's all-important jobs figures. Should December's numbers come close to November's – which greatly exceeded experts' expectations – and tensions in the Middle East fail to escalate further, a return to upward-trending rates may be on the horizon.
The post Mortgage Rates Driven Almost Entirely by U.S./Iran Tensions appeared first on Zillow Research.
via Mortgage Rates Driven Almost Entirely by U.S./Iran Tensions
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