The Fed sets short-term interest rates, but does not directly control mortgage rates, which tend to move in tandem with the yields on long-term bonds. Those long-term rates are dependent on investor ...
In September, rates plunged to a two-year low, falling as far as 5.89%. But over the following three-plus months, the average surged almost 1.25 percentage points—before recently easing lower.
Those rates determine how much Americans earn on their savings and how much they pay to borrow — including when buying a home. Now, the Fed doesn’t say, “Here are the mortgagerates for ...