Real estate rates 'may be nearing a top'

Bond market, Fed hikes paint picture of possible recession

Mortgage rates stayed at their 2005 highs, just below 6.5 percent for the lowest-fee 30-year loans, but trading in the all-important Treasury bond market suggests that long-term rates may be nearing a top.

There were no market-moving economic data last week, but the Treasury had $44 billion in new bonds to sell at auction and the behavior of the bidders tells a tale.

The Treasury borrows constantly to roll over old debt and to raise new cash, but it raises the big money in a few "refunding" weeks. Nobody gets a refund in this misnomer; the ancient term refers to the Treasury re-funding its empty coffers.

Reafe the entire Lou Barnes article at Inman News