This week was shorter thanks to Monday’s holiday (because even the bond market needs a long weekend), and the economic data that did show up? Pretty tame. No fireworks. No panic. No “everybody run for the exits.”
Even when The Supreme Court ruled against certain recently-applied tariffs — which sounds like the kind of headline that should send traders into a frenzy — rates basically shrugged and said, “We’re good.” By the end of the week, mortgage rates were hanging out near their lowest levels in more than three years.
Remember: the bond market runs the show when it comes to interest rates. And this tariff ruling was the week’s biggest headline for bonds. The chart below shows the 10-year Treasury yield, which is the go-to benchmark for longer-term rates like mortgages.
Yes, the ruling sparked the biggest move and the highest trading volume of the week… but zoom out and it’s more of a speed bump than a roller coaster.
Here’s the same chart, just zoomed out to show the whole month instead of just the week.
See? A little wiggle, not a full-blown meltdown.
Now, could there be more volatility ahead depending on how the tariff story unfolds? Absolutely. Markets love a good plot twist. But for now, traders aren’t making any dramatic conclusions. And that calm response gave mortgage rates room to glide down to their best levels in over three years (depending on how you measure it).
According to MND’s daily survey, there has only been one other day this year (January 9th) with lower daily rates than we saw this week.
And if we’re talking weekly averages — either MND’s weekly numbers or Freddie Mac’s weekly survey — it’s not even close. This was the best week for mortgage rates since September 2022.
So despite tariff headlines, market chatter, and the usual background noise… rates quietly slipped back to 3-year lows.
Not bad for a “boring” week.