The significant thing in mortgages this week wasn’t what had changed, but what had stayed the same. 30-year mortgage rates posted their fourth consecutive weekly reading within a range of only 0.03%. 

This stability was not because of a lack in economic news. Among the prominent developments:

• High-ranking government officials, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, continue to issue increasingly more somber pronouncements about the economy
• After a brief respite, oil and gas prices once again surged to new highs
• Meanwhile Congress and the White House continued to debate over how far mortgage relief measures should go

Indeed, considering the amount of economic news, the fact that mortgage rates remained unchanged was not because there were no new developments, but more because conflicting developments essentially fought to a standstill.

For mortgage shoppers, this meant good news — additional time to think and act while mortgage rates are still at uncommonly low levels. 

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Stagflation hasn’t been experienced in the US since 1970, but the combination of rising inflation and a slowing economy is evident. Economist predict stagflation is happening again and see this as a huge contributer to the rising number of foreclosures.

For more information on stagflation visit:

Stagflation in the 1970s
Murmurs of stagflation hint at challenge for Fed
Bernanke’s Stagflation Proclamation