Three Federal Reserve officials said they did not support the US central bank’s decision to cut interest rates this week, citing inflation that remains too high. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and her Cleveland counterpart, Beth Hammack, said Friday they would have preferred to hold rates steady. Both were speaking at a conference in Dallas, […]
Fed ‘chorus’ comes out against latest rate cut, citing inflation Read More »
Mortgage industry experts are divided over the idea of allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in order to reduce mortgage rates, a proposal recently suggested by trade groups. While the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) could create demand quickly amid a reduction in the Federal Reserve’s presence in the
Debate heats up around GSEs’ potentially larger role as MBS buyers Read More »
Mortgage rates declined for the fourth consecutive week on the back of the Federal Reserve’s second rate cut of the year. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.17%, just a 0.2-percentage-point drop from last week‘s 6.19%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market survey. The 30-year rate was 6.72% a year ago. “The last few months
Mortgage rates tick down following Fed’s cut Read More »
Pending sales of existing US homes stalled in September, suggesting anxiety about the job market kept potential buyers sidelined despite a welcome easing in mortgage rates. An index of contract signings held at 74.8 after climbing a revised 4.2% a month earlier to the highest level since March, according to National Association of Realtors data
Pending home sales stall as labor market concerns build Read More »
Mortgage rates have been the monster under the bed for a while. Every time they tick up, people flinch and say, “Maybe I’ll wait.” But here’s the twist. Waiting for that perfect 5-point-something rate could end up haunting your wallet later. The Magic Number According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR): “. . .
Why You Don’t Need To Be Afraid of Today’s Mortgage Rates Read More »
The lowest mortgage rates in over a year accelerated refinance activity for the second consecutive week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. The MBA’s Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, jumped 7.1% on a seasonally-adjusted basis for the week ending Oct. 24 after four weeks of declining activity. The index increased 7%
Falling rates fuel second week of refi surge Read More »
A growing number of economists believe that the Federal Reserve is close to announcing the end of its quantitative tightening (QT) program — a move that could have wide-reaching implications for the mortgage industry. Over the past few weeks, central bank officials have signaled they are prepared to wind down the policy aimed at shrinking
Fed prepares to pivot balance sheet, with potential ripple effects for mortgages Read More »
Happy lowest-mortgage-rate-of-the-year day on this Halloween week! Mortgage rates are currently at a yearly low right before the Fed meets so the question is: will Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruin the good news right before Halloween festivities? Whatever Powell says tomorrow, mortgage rates are behaving differently than they did last year at this time. Last
Will the Fed ruin the lowest mortgage rates of 2025? Read More »
Fannie Mae’s latest economic and housing outlook reflects more positive expectations. The government-sponsored entity notably lowered its mortgage rate expectations for the end of the year to 6.3% from 6.4% in its previous outlook, while its 2026 fourth quarter forecast remained the same at 5.9%. A quarter-over-quarter drop to 6.3% from 6.6% would mark the
Mortgage rates, home prices improve in Fannie Mae forecast Read More »
We had a nice pop in our weekly pending home sales last week, and with mortgage rates near 2025 lows we could ask: Is housing breaking out? Not exactly. One of the themes I really stressed this year is that weekly data can be volatile around holiday weekends. So we always look at the two
Weekly home sales look stronger than normal, but there’s a catch Read More »