A Monday call and a Thursday grade you can show a borrower.
Every Monday we publish a 30- and 15-year forecast. Every Thursday after Freddie Mac's PMMS release we grade it HIT, CLOSE or MISS, in public.
RateScore is independent and not affiliated with Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, MBA, or any lender. Please don’t present it as co-branded with them.
Client pitch this week: how to talk borrowers through when to move
Tied to this week’s 7.28% forecast (range 7.13–7.43%). Net call for borrowers: Prepare. Last week’s call missed; this one grades Thursday. Informational, not advice.
- Oil is the biggest reason rates are near 7% this weekWait check · Source
- What I'd say: "Oil is the biggest thing holding rates near 7% right now. It isn't the only thing." Then walk them through oil, inflation expectations, the 10-year and their 30-year.
- Give them the range, not a number. 7.13–7.43% is about $81/mo of swing on $400k (RateScore estimate).
- Show both sides: about $52/mo if it goes against them, about $30/mo if it goes their way. The lean is roughly 4 bps and the model is young, so don't oversell it.
- Show them last week's miss on the scorecard. It's honest, and it keeps the forecast from sounding like a promise.
- Plug their actual loan amount into the wait check before Thursday's survey.
- Midterms Tuesday: bonds care about the deficit, not who winsWait check · Source
- Call before Tuesday, not Wednesday morning. Clients who already heard the plan don't panic on a red day.
- What I'd say: "I'm not betting on who wins. The bond market is pricing how much the government borrows."
- Put a number on it: 10–20 bps is $27–$55/mo on $400k.
- Get the file ready (docs in) so a good pricing day doesn't slip by.
- Don't call the race. Talk about the rate.
- Pulte's fee talk is real. It just isn't this week's rateWait check · Source
- Don't promise LLPA relief. Nothing has been decided.
- What I'd say: "That's a fee change on your file, not a change to the market rate. It doesn't change today's math."
- If they're waiting on Pulte's next post, run the wait check and show them what a month of waiting costs.
- Fewer credit reports would trim closing costs, not the rate.
- Put a reminder on the calendar to reprice if an LLPA decision lands before year-end.
Copy, paste, send from your own phone
Plain text. Edit it to your voice. Numbers update with each forecast.
Show clients the record
Yes, link to the page or forecast URL with attribution.
See the scorecard. We withhold hit-rate stats until 4 live grades exist.
No. It forecasts the national PMMS average, not any lender's pricing.
Estimates only. Not financial advice, not a rate quote, not an offer of credit, not a rate lock. Talk to a licensed loan officer about your situation.
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