Mortgage Rates

Newrez, Pennymac, Rate roll out fresh offerings

Newrez, Pennymac and Rate are rolling out new products that signal a flurry of activity across the mortgage market. Processing Content The timing might be coincidental for most of these announcements, but loanDepot’s announcement it was restarting wholesale production has changed the competitive landscape for the wholesale sector in particular. Newrez has title insurance alternative […]

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Purchase locks jump as rates dip in February

Mortgage rates dropping to a three-year low last month drove up lock activity, specifically among purchase borrowers. Processing Content Total rate-lock volume increased 9% month over month and nearly 40% on an annual basis, according to Optimal Blue’s latest Market Advantage report. Purchase lock activity rose more than 14% from January and 5% compared with

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How will rising oil prices impact the U.S. housing market?

As we enter another week of the Iran conflict, the question now is what will this do to the economy, but for this article, we want to focus specifically on what this conflict means for the U.S. housing market. There are currently two sides to this discussion. One camp believes the economy is still expanding

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Originations hit 3.5-year high in Q4 boosted by refinancing

Mortgage originations hit a three-and-a-half-year high in the fourth quarter of last year, as year-low mortgage rates boosted refinance activity, new industry data found. Processing Content An estimated 565,000 first-lien refinances closed in the fourth quarter, up about 50% from a year prior and the most since the second quarter of 2022. This pushed total

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How Kalshi, Polymarket bets on mortgage rates are being watched by lenders

Will mortgage rates go higher this year? You can bet on it.  Processing Content Predictions market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket now feature nascent trading on where the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will move this year. Anonymous traders have placed tens of thousands of dollars so far between the competing sites on “yes” or “no” contracts against

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Housing demand is up and inventory is down, even with Iran conflict

In the crazy world of economics, with all the drama last week, it was a pretty normal housing week. Housing data showed year-over-year growth, weekly pending home sales rose, inventory declined slightly and mortgage rates were very steady, considering the conflict with Iran. Let’s take a look at probably the calmest sector in the economy

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Job market softens as US payrolls fall by 92K in February

In a sign of a still-softening labor market, U.S. employers eliminated 92,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in February, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Economists say the report is unlikely to change the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates. Meanwhile, the jobs numbers for December 2025 were downwardly revised

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Oil price shock pushes mortgage rates back above 6%

Mortgage lenders left their desks Friday with the 30-year fixed finally below 6%. When they returned Monday morning, the market was in turmoil, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury at one point up 11 basis points from the previous close. Processing Content As a result, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage moved up 2 basis points this

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Lenders offer pricing promos in anticipation of a hot market

Mortgage lenders are rolling out new promotions as they compete for borrowers in a fluctuating rate environment, with both refinancing and purchase incentives becoming more common. Processing Content United Wholesale Mortgage recently introduced two offers: one providing a 75 basis point boost on conventional and government refinancings, and another offering a $600 appraisal credit for

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