KungFuPanda

No, he’s right about the primary rate. It’s not the same as the prime rate. The primary rate is the mortgage rate in the primary market; the secondary rate is the mortgage rate in the secondary market. The spread is simply the difference between these rates, and it reflects market conditions in that riskier markets have larger spreads. “Have been widening” is suspicious language, though, because spreads did widen and have been falling for a while (they’re still high).
This should provide you with some basic insights: http://www.interactivedata.com/uploads/File/Primary%20and%20Secondary%20Mortgage%20Rates.pdf