The Fed held rates steady in March. Your mortgage quote went up anyway.
By Mina Mina · Real Broker, LLC
This trips up a lot of buyers, so let me clear it up. In March the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady. And yet plenty of people saw their mortgage quotes go up in the same stretch. How can both be true?
The Fed does not set your mortgage rate
The Fed controls a short term rate that influences things like credit cards and savings accounts. Your 30 year mortgage rate follows the bond market, especially the 10 year Treasury yield. Those bonds react to inflation expectations and world events, sometimes daily, and they do not wait for a Fed meeting.
What to do with that
Do not try to trade the news. Instead, get a real preapproval so you know your number, and talk with your lender about locking when a quote works for your budget. The buyers who do well are not the ones who guess right on rates. They are the ones who stay ready and move with intention.
Want me to connect you with a local lender who explains all of this in plain language? Just ask.