Seattle Mortgage Rates Today 9/19/12: “Lock ‘em if you got ‘em!” The initial implementation of Quantitative Easing 3 is already providing results. Although the results may be short-lived, mortgage bonds are trading higher this morning. Prices have adjusted offering rates 0.125% lower than yesterday. With most of the Fed bond purchases taking place in the morning, prices have the opportunity to rise later in the day.

Given the economic climate, it comes as a surprise that the rise in home sales in August was the fastest growth experienced over the past two years. May 2010 was the last time we saw home sales grow at this rate. Although new housing starts were revised lower from 746,000 to 733,000 in July, the numbers are still up 2.3%. Will QE3 assist more people to buy? Banks still look like the winners here as rates are at historical lows but lenders are tight with the funds. Banks are not passing the savings on to the consumers; they are giving consumers just a very small percentage of those savings.