Purchase loan applications soared 10% last week to the highest level since April, even though rates have been stuck in the high 6s, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday
The Consumer Price Index rose 2.4% year over year, slightly above April's 2.3% increase. Month over month, prices edged up just 0.1%, compared to 0.2% in April
An estimated 7.24M Americans were unemployed in May, as hiring by private employers slowed to slowest pace since October and the federal government continued to shrink its payroll
Consumer confidence sank to a 5-year low in April over concerns about tariffs, while trade deficit surged to an all-time high in March, and job postings shrank more than expected
Heightened fears of a trade war and recession have investors convinced the Fed will start cutting rates again in June, a sentiment that gives mortgage rates more room to come down
Homebuyers have responded to a pullback in mortgage rates from January highs, but tariffs on imported goods could keep inflation elevated and halt the downward trend in rates
Mortgage rates eased Friday as investors took stock of new data showing employers added 151,000 workers to their payrolls in February and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%
Trump calls for lower interest rates after release of January CPI report. Powell says Fed is in no hurry to cut rates, and bond market investors who fund mortgages are taking him at his word
Windermere’s Principal Economist Jeff Tucker looks at mortgage rates and the factors that have pushed them up more than a point since September
Investors who fund most home loans are now convinced that the Federal Reserve won't cut rates again until June after employers add 256K jobs and unemployment falls to 4.1%
Employers added 227,000 workers to their payrolls in November, but with 7.1 million Americans out of work, the unemployment rate is back up to 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports
Hurricanes and strikes were expected to dent job creation, and bond market investors are looking ahead to next week's election, Fed meeting and government bond auctions, analysts say
Mortgage rates inch up as an expected decline in key inflation gauge does little to change expectations for Fed rate cuts among investors who fund most home loans
With a soft landing seen as more likely, analysts say Fed can be more cautious about the pace of future rate cuts and mortgage rates aren't likely to fall below 6% anytime soon
A surprisingly large increase in core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, means Fed policymakers are likely to start out with a modest 25 basis-point rate cut next week