Fixed mortgage rates tick up for first time in three weeks

“No one expected policy changes from the Fed, but we always have to focus on the wording,” said Brian Koss, executive vice president of Mortgage Network in Danvers, Mass. “For now, we’re told there will be no talks of the Fed tapering off its purchases of mortgage assets, which has kept rates artificially low during the pandemic, so we can expect mortgage rates to remain around the same. When the Fed eventually signals it will taper asset purchases, you can expect a knee-jerk rise in interest rates. Typically after that happens, rates usually settle down until they find a range in the middle. But that initial rise will be a shock to everyone who has grown used to the extended low-rate environment.”