Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can be sure that we put your interests first. Our award-winning editors and journalists create honest, accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
The key principles
We appreciate your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we’ve put editorial standards in place to make sure that happens. Our editors and reporters carefully check editorial content to make sure the information you read is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial independence
The Bankrate editorial team is writing on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team does not receive any direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is carefully checked to ensure accuracy. So whether you are reading an article or a review, you can be sure that you are getting credible and reliable information.
You have questions about the money. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you stay on top of your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools they need to be successful throughout the financial journey of life.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can be sure our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and journalists create honest, accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial team is objective, factual and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we can provide you with great content, competitive pricing, and helpful tools by telling you how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent publisher and advertising-supported comparison service. We are remunerated in exchange for the placement of sponsored products and services, or by clicking on certain links published on our site. Therefore, this compensation may have an impact on how, where and in what order the products appear in the list categories. Other factors, such as the rules of our own exclusive website and whether a product is offered in your region or within your self-selected credit score range, may also impact how and location of products on this site. Although we strive to provide a wide range of offerings, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
Mortgage rates are notoriously difficult to predict. They rise and fall based on market sentiment, securities and various economic indicators. Here’s a look at what could move the markets this week.
Friday the National Association of Real Estate Agents will release existing home sales data for April. The report itself does not determine mortgage rates, but the sales statistics reflect the state of the housing economy – which has been characterized by record inventories and soaring house prices.
Also on the horizon are a housing starts report for April, which will be released on Tuesday, and weekly jobless claims data on Thursday.
Calculating mortgage rates is complicated, but here’s a simple rule of thumb: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage closely tracks the yield of the 10-year Treasury. When that rate rises, so does the popular 30-year fixed rate mortgage.
Fixed mortgage rates are influenced by other factors, such as supply and demand. When mortgage lenders have too much business, they raise rates to reduce demand. When business is light, it tends to lower rates to attract more customers.
Ultimately, the rates are set by the investors who buy your loan. Most US mortgages are packaged in the form of securities and resold to investors. Your lender offers you an interest rate that secondary market investors are willing to pay.
Learn more: