Mortgage rates are driven down to their lowest levels since winter

“Markets are trying to anticipate the timing of the Fed’s next move and this week, the Fed meeting minutes conveyed more patience toward tapering and rate hikes than the market had expected immediately following the late June meeting,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “In other words, [mortgage] rates slipped as investors realized that the last Fed discussion may not have been as hawkish as was originally believed. Looking forward, we expect rates to bounce roughly around the 3 percent mark until at least August, which is the earliest that the Fed is likely to provide a clearer timeline for scaling back its mortgage-backed security purchases.”