It was a volatile week for mortgage rates. Influences included central bankers, comments from the Trump administration, and economic data. The net effect of these factors was very small, however, and mortgage rates ended the week with little change.
December results, new home sales in 2016 were up 12% from 2015. The new homes sales data contrasted with Tuesday’s report on existing home sales which remained near the best levels of the year. One reason for the difference is that the existing home sales data measures closings, while the new home sales data measures contracts signed. This means that the December figures for new homes sales likely were more affected by the higher mortgage rates seen since the election.
