A calmer week for the markets, good for mortgage rates.

April 18. 2025

Happy Friday from Local Mortgage!

Markets were a bit calmer this week and mortgage rates made a nice bounce back. We will end the week right at 6.5% for most 30-year fixed conventional scenarios.

Most of the positive movement this week occurred on Monday and Tuesday as investors started to get more comfortable with the current economic landscape. With the prior week being filled with back-and-forth tariff headlines from the US and China, this week was a bit calmer, which was certainly positive for the markets. Some economists feel that the initial maneuvering from both sides caused the biggest ripples to the global economy and bond market and any negotiated future trade agreements from here will only be an improvement from where we are currently sit.

In Wednesday’s speech, Fed Chairman Powell said that the FED will face a challenging scenario due to tariff policies, if they indeed raise inflation and lower economic growth. He said FED officials will continue to wait and see how the tariff policies affect the economy before deciding on an appropriate monetary policy changes.

The main economic report of the week came Wednesday with Retail sales showing that consumer spending for March surged 1.4% from February. This was the largest increase since January 2023. Motor vehicles and parts posted the biggest gain of 5.3%, which is driven by consumers rushing to beat possible price hikes due to the new tariffs.

Any tariff news will certainly be in the spotlight next week, otherwise it will be a light week for economic reports. Housing data will be in the spotlight with new home sales on Wednesday and existing sales on Friday.

Hope everyone has a great Easter weekend and thank you for reading.