Weekly Market Commentary - For the Week Ending 3/20/26

Rates UP Again This Week, But NO Changes to Benefit Amounts Next Week!

Welcome to this week’s edition of the SimpleReverse Weekly Market & Interest Rate Update for the week ending 3/20/26! This newsletter gives you a quick update on what is going on in the markets and where the 10YR CMT is headed for the upcoming week.

Market Update:

As everyone knows by now, the FED kept rates unchanged after their March meeting this week. This news caused mortgage rates to tick back up this week, while also pushing the 10YR Treasury back up further as well.

The FED remains cautious as there are still signs of sticky inflation and higher energy-related concerns due to the continued conflict in the Middle East. Chair Powell also indicated that higher energy prices are likely to push up headline inflation in the near term.

February CPI data was relatively steady coming in at 2.4% for headline numbers and 2.5% for core inflation numbers. However, producer inflation (PPI) rose 0.7% to 3.4% year over year, reinforcing the idea that inflation pressures have not fully disappeared. Labor markets are also part of the story, and even though payrolls declined and unemployment held steady at 4.4% indicating a softening labor market; the continued inflation concerns are offsetting those numbers.

All of this data is keeping the markets from getting optimistic about faster rate cuts this year. So, we don’t expect to see any movement in rates in the short-term, at least as long as Chair Powell remains in control, but that will also change come early summer with a new FED Chair that could change the direction of the FED.

For Reverse Mortgage Professionals, it  continues to be important to shift the conversation away from “waiting for the perfect rate” and back towards the bigger planning questions of does this loan solve cash flow concerns, preserve cash, avoid monthly payments, help you purchase a new home with no payments and as a tool to decrease drawing down investments to quickly. 

10YR CMT Interest Rate Projection for Next Week:

The 10YR CMT currently sits at 4.21% for this week and has continued its move back up this week. We will see an increase of around 5-7 bps in the Expected Rate next week! However, this will have NO IMPACT on the Expected Rate and will result in the SAME Benefit Amounts next week!

Based on the data from this week, we will see an INCREASE in the Expected Rate of about 5-7 bps for next week. However, this INCREASE will have NO IMPACT on Benefit Amounts for next week. So, if you have applications or closings, there will be NO DIFFERENCE IN BENEFIT AMOUNTS FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS FROM THIS WEEK TO NEXT WEEK!  As usual, new rates for next week will take effect on Tuesday, 3/24/26! We are providing this data to you so that YOU can continue to make the decisions that best suit your business based on the information you have!

If you have questions about this, please let me know! Thanks for the partnership and Good Selling!!!