METHODOLOGY / VERSION 1
How RateWatch monitors
A clear line from attributable market data to a homeowner-controlled alert.
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A verified national benchmark
RateWatch collects the Freddie Mac PMMS (Primary Mortgage Market Survey) published benchmark for conventional 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages. We check for source updates four times a day.
PMMS is a national market benchmark. It is not a loan quote, lender offer, APR comparison, lock recommendation, or statement that a homeowner qualifies to refinance.
Official state context
RateWatch also shows the latest quarterly FHFA Purchase-Only HPI for the home's saved state, including its one-year rank and the median across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is a statewide historical trend—not a home value, AVM, appraisal, forecast, rate quote, or alert input.
Collect, check, compare, alert
- 01
Observe
Collect a new attributable PMMS observation.
- 02
Validate
Reject stale, malformed, duplicate, or mismatched data.
- 03
Compare
Match the benchmark product with the alert line you saved.
- 04
Notify
Email you once when a fresh benchmark reaches that line.
Technical safeguards
A rule revision changes its fingerprint, and the same rule and observation cannot produce a second alert. Immediately before delivery, RateWatch rechecks the account, recipient, preference, rule, and fingerprint.
What the signal does—and does not—mean
A threshold crossing means the monitored benchmark reached the rate you chose. It does not mean you qualify, or that refinancing will save money after APR, points, fees, taxes, insurance, and closing costs.
Unavailable and future data
Regional rate ranges and automated property values appear only after licensed sources pass provenance, freshness, and retention checks. RateWatch never fills those gaps with demo data. When a source omits APR, points, or fees, those fields remain unavailable.
Questions and corrections
Email hello@northglass.io with a source or methodology question.