Mortgage rates and markets take an early holiday snooze 🏠🥱🦃

 

Welcome to the Midweek Update! 

Included in this update are the following sections:

• Midweek Update
• Impact Calendar
• Mortgage Rate Prices
• Mortgage Spreads
• Rate Lock Guide
• Stock Markets (5-Day)
• Crypto Markets (7-Day)
• Precious Metals (5-Day)

Shop real-time mortgage rates anonymously and get instant qualification results at LendZen.com

  

NOVEMBER 26 ⏪
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Quiet trading has defined the short Thanksgiving week.

Bonds found a mild boost on Tuesday after PPI didn’t have any surprises, while retail sales missed expectations on Wednesday.

The weekly ADP payrolls data reinforced the soft-labor narrative that has helped mortgage rates improve slightly since the first week of November.

Most sectors are slightly better on the week, with volatility absent and trading volume thinning into the holiday break.
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Holiday snooze time

  

 

IMPACT CALENDAR 📅
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Markets are closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving and will have a short day on Friday (2pm).
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Mortgage Rate Impact Calendar NOV 24 - 28 (THU)

**Events marked purple were rescheduled as a result of the shutdown

  

 

MORTGAGE RATE PRICES 📉
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Mortgage rates do not rise or fall, instead the PRICE of rates change.

The LendZen Index calculates a daily change in the price of mortgage rates by tracking a spectrum of mortgage-backed securities (MBS). 
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• 24-Hour: +1 bps ($10 per $100K)
• 5-Day: -36 bps (-$358)
• 10-Day: -33 bps (-$325)
• 30-Day: -18 bps (-$179)
• 60-Day: -132 bps (-$1,319)

Learn more about the LendZen Index and explore the full data series at LendZen.substack.com
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LendZen Index Last 10-Days (November 26, 2025)

 

LendZen Index Trailing 30-Days (November 26, 2025)

  

 

MORTGAGE SPREADS 🧈
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Published daily with the LendZen Index is the LendZen Mortgage-Treasury Spread.

The LMTS uses actual bond yields to create a historically consistent, and reliable, data set.
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• Nov 19: 1.12
• Nov 26: 1.09
• 24h: +4 bps
• 5d: -3 bps
• 12m Avg: 1.25
• YoY: -28 bps

Learn more about the importance of accurately calculating spreads on this Reddit post.
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LMTS Spread (Inverted) + 10-Year Treasury Note

  

 

RATE LOCK GUIDE 🔒
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The LendZen LOCK-O-METER provides borrowers with a risk-weighted score based on how various macroeconomic events, including market data, central bank announcements, and geopolitics, each historically impacts the price of bonds.

higher risk scores = lean towards locking

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Closing Window
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[ 15 Days ] — 73 🟠
Holiday liquidity keeps risk tilted toward locking; any stray headline could trigger outsized moves in thin markets.

[ 30 Days ] — 63 🟠
It has been a steady, but fragile improvement, as bonds hold small weekly gains. December’s FOMC and NFP looming will be the next market movers to watch.

[ 45 Days ] — 54 🟡
December volatility risks fade slightly depending on the results of the FOMC and NFP. Revisit your lock strategy after markets process the Fed rate decision and November econ data.

[ 60 Days ] — 42 🟡
The longer view remains in float territory if econ data stays bond supportive and mortgage rate prices hold below the August NFP levels.
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LendZen Lock-O-Meter Risk Scores (November 26, 2025)

  

 

STOCK MARKETS (5-Day) 📊
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• DJIA:  47,418  (+3.53%)
• S&P 500:  6,812  (+3.92%)
• NASDAQ:  25,233  (+4.55%)

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S&P 500 Index (USD) 5-Day Change - November 26, 2025

  

 

CRYPTO (7-Day) 🧮
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• Bitcoin:  $89,822  (-3.27%)
• Ethereum:  $3,019  (-3.31%)
• Solana:  $143  (+1.78%)

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Bitcoin Price (USD) 7-Day Change - November 26, 2025

  

 

PRECIOUS METALS (5-Day) 🪙
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• Gold:  $4,163  (+2.22%)
• Silver:  $53.24  (+3.66%)
• Platinum:  $1,585  (+3.19%)

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Gold Spot Price (USD) 5-Day Change - November 26, 2025

   

 

 

NEXT STEPS ✅
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• Mortgage rates change daily – customize a rate quote that updates automatically and revisit your current options anytime with just one-click and no human interaction at LendZen.com

 

• If you prefer having a rate quote scenario created for you visit this Reddit post.

 

• You can also check current rates for a variety of loan scenarios at this Reddit post.

 

• See how to instantly find the best mortgage deal in this Reddit post.

  

 

LEARN MORE 🧠
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• For mortgage insights like this post please join the Home Mortgage Rates Subreddit.

 

• Got a specific mortgage question? Post it in the “Mortgage Talk” Reddit thread.

 

• Track the daily change in mortgage rates across a variety of time series at LendZenIndex.com

 

• Learn more about breakeven timelines and when to refinance by visiting this Reddit post.

 

• Be more in control of when to lock your rate by reading this Reddit post.

 

 

MSTY reverse split. No, it does not benefit you, and here is the reason why.

A lot of people are asking about the MSTY reverse split happening on 8 December, so here is a clear breakdown of what is actually going on and why it matters.

Let’s strip out the fairy dust and look at the mechanics.

What is happening

r/MSTY_YieldMax is doing a one for five reverse split. Five shares become one.

If you had 500 shares at $5 each, you now have 100 shares at around $25 each. The investment capital ($2,500 in this example remains unchanged)

Your total value does not change by a single cent. It is just the number of units and the price per unit being rearranged.

Why this is happening

Because MSTY’s unit price has bled down into the single digits, and the fund needs to reset the price higher to keep trading mechanics, spreads and options functioning cleanly.

But that is the surface level explanation.

The deeper reason is structural. MSTY and WNTR sell their upside exposure to MSTR in order to pay income. The high yield is not free. You hand over long term upside in exchange for short term distributions.

The result is simple maths
r/MSTR goes up and down in relation to r/Bitcoin. MSTY tracks the downside with only a partial exposure to upside. There is no mechanism built into the product that allows it to meaningfully recover NAV.

This is why reverse splits will not be a one off event. They are baked into the product design. and are a feature of all r/CoveredCallETFs.

What this means for investors

If you treat MSTY like a stock you can “buy the dip” on, you are fighting the structure. Bitcoin recovers. MSTR recovers. MSTY does not. or does not enough.

The strategy with MSTY and WNTR is not dip buying. It is active rebalancing. Managing decay, not chasing upside.

If you understand that, the whole product starts making sense.
If you do not, these reverse splits by r/YieldMaxETFs will keep surprising you.

If anyone wants the deeper maths behind NAV decay or the logic of rebalancing between MSTY and WNTR, happy to break it down.