#mortgage-rates

#mortgage-rates

A key criticism of offering house hunters a longer-term borrowing option is that it would not save borrowers a significant amount of money in the short term and would drive up buyer's financing costs in the long haul. Numerous housing gurus claim the interest rate on these half-century loans would be significantly higher than the traditional 30-year mortgage. This logic is largely based on the fact that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are more expensive than the already available but lesser-used twist, the 15-year home loan.

The Fed's decision to lower the federal funds rate last week was widely expected by the time the announcement came, with several members of the Federal Open Market Committee publicly voicing their support for a cut. Mortgage rates fell ahead of the meeting in anticipation of the Fed's move, but now rates are reflecting conflicting ideas about what central bankers might do in December.

By my assessment, the labor market is largely in balance, the economy shows continued momentum, and inflation remains too high, the statement read in part. I view the stance of policy as only modestly restrictive. In this context, I judged it appropriate to maintain the policy rate at this week's meeting. The federal funds rate is currently at a range of 3.75% to 4%, its lowest level in three years.

We've built a mortgage experience that's simple, digital, and transparent and collaborating with Robinhood shows what's possible when technology meets accessibility. Our goal is to help more people turn financial progress into homeownership, one of life's most meaningful milestones. In an interview with HousingWire ahead of the announcement, Malloy said that the offer was first piloted over the summer to a small group of Robinhood

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits at 6.19%, down from 6.54% a year ago. While that decline represents some welcome relief for homebuyers, economists at Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) believe most of the short-term mortgage rate relief is already behind us. Both Fannie Mae and the MBA released 2026 forecasts this month showing not much change from here.

Although some Realtors might be expecting a more active housing market in the current months, economists warn that affordability remains a challenge for many consumers. Lower rates have been bringing some buyers into the market, but according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the recent drop in rates has primarily increased refinance activity rather than purchase activity, Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS, said in a statement.

While there are reports from Redfin and other sources detailing high home purchase cancellation rates in 2025. Multiple reports released in the latter half of 2025 indicated that cancellation rates had reached significant levels in the preceding months, with Redfin reporting a 15% cancellation rate in September 2025. 2025 cancellation rates based on Redfin data September 2025: 15% of home-purchase agreements were canceled. July 2025: 15.3% of home-purchase agreements were canceled. June 2025: Nearly 15% of pending home sales fell through.

As anticipated, falling mortgage rates are lifting home sales, Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said in a statement. Improving housing affordability is also contributing to the increase in sales. The inventory of unsold existing homes also rose in September, jumping 1.3% on a monthly basis and 14.0% on a yearly basis to 1.55 million units. This represents a 4.6 month supply of unsold inventory at the current sales pace, the same as a month prior, but up from 4.2 months in September 2024.

The idea relies on amending the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (PSPA) to enable the GSEs to purchase up to $300 billion of their own MBS and Ginnie Mae MBS when the spread between the 30-year mortgage rate and the 10-year Treasury exceeds 170 basis points The proposal was outlined in a letter sent by the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) to the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte.

One scenario is that growth continues more or less as it has for the last 20 years. If so, the current federal fiscal trajectory is unsustainable,

The real estate investment landscape in the United States is not solely dominated by institutional buyers such as Wall Street giants-rather, small landlords with fewer than 11 properties make up more than 90% of investor-owned homes in the country. The latest Investor Pulse report by CJ Patrick Co. and BatchData reveals that even in states with high rates of investor ownership, it is primarily small landlords who are driving this trend, particularly in Maine, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii.

The Federal Reserve's decision this month to cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points was encouraging news for Americans eager to become homeowners. Although mortgage rates aren't set by the Fed, they are impacted by its policy changes. Indeed, prior to and in anticipation of the Fed's announcement, mortgage rates fell to their lowest level since October 2024, with the 30-year fixed rate dropping to 6.39% spurring a 29% spike in mortgage loan applications.

Sales closed at a greater clip than listings hit the market, marking the third consecutive quarter where transactions outpaced inventory. It's not blazing, but the market is slowly getting faster, said report author Jonathan Miller. Buyers and sellers notched 3,100 deals in the third quarter, marking a 13 percent uptick from the same period last year. During the same time frame, the number of active listings rose 7 percent from roughly 7,200 to 7,700.