MBA forecasts rates will probably stay right where they are now in 2026, as investors have already priced in future Fed rate cuts. But look for 3 years of steady growth in home sales ahead
Fed chair dismisses suggestion that central bank could resume its purchases of mortgage-backed securities to bring down mortgage rates and improve housing affordability
Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather unpacks the economic principles behind the real estate industry to make agents more effective
Housing data, mortgage rates, federally-backed home loans, flood insurance and the Washington, DC, housing market are all already starting to feel the impacts
In predicting that mortgage rates will drop below 6% next year, economists at Fannie Mae are more optimistic about growth and less worried about inflation than their MBA counterparts
Improve your understanding of how broad economic factors impact the housing market
Recent Trump appointee Stephen Miran was the lone dissenter in Wednesday's 11-1 vote, holding out for a bigger, 1/2 percentage point rate cut advocated by the president
Homebuyer loan applications flooded in last week at the 2nd-highest level of the year. Demand for adjustable-rate mortgage loans is at the highest level since 2008
The silver lining in deteriorating consumer confidence is that the weaker job market means the Fed is expected to slash rates several times this year and next, even as tariffs fuel inflation
Initial jobless claims climbed last week to the highest level since Oct. 23, 2021, but investors and economists are expecting 3 small rate cuts this year rather than a dramatic move on Sept. 17
Purchase loan demand slipped last week, but rates are expected to keep falling with unemployed outnumbering job openings in July for the first time since the pandemic
Driving the revised forecast are expectations for slightly cooler economic growth and hotter inflation, which could mean mortgage rates come down a little more slowly
Homeowners rushed to refinance last week, and lender data shows homebuyer demand for purchase loans is up 17 percent from a year ago with Federal Reserve rate cuts on deck
Home prices are holding up in the Midwest and Northeast, but have come down from a year ago in more than 70% of Western markets and 40% of Southern markets
Tariff uncertainties and job loss worries meant lower rates had a bigger impact last week on refinancing demand than homebuying, Mortgage Bankers Association surveys show