#mortgage-rates

#mortgage-rates

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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.

The two government sponsored enterprises buy loans from mortgage lenders to ensure liquidity in the market and repackage those into investment products. They also set the standards for creditworthiness and ability to repay for mortgage loans. While they offer several construction products, those support lenders and homebuyers, not builders. HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami has written extensively on what could trigger more homebuilding and weighed in on Trump's statement.

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.

Mortgage rates are expected to dip below 6% by the end of 2026, a level not seen in three years, according to Fannie Mae's latest projections. This shift is anticipated to impact the housing market and affordability for potential homebuyers. The downward trend in rates is influenced by various factors including the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions, inflation data, and market movements.

From today, the mortgage rate will decrease by 0.15pc to 0.2pc on a number of products that are fixed for periods of between two and seven years. The rate decreases will apply to mortgages where the Loan to Value ratio is between 80pc and 90pc, including 'green' mortgages and so-called 'high-value' mortgages. PTSB said the new rates for the 2-year, 3-year, 5-year and 7-year fixed terms in this band - which range from 3.7pc to 4.4pc - are available to both new and existing customers.

Matt Vernon, the head of consumer lending at Bank of America, told HousingWire via email that recent rate declines have prompted increased activity in the refinance market through both rate-and-term and cash-out refi loans. Most people are focused on rate-and-term refinances to lower their monthly payments, while some are also looking to tap into their home equity, Vernon said. For example, HELOC rates dropped quickly after the Fed's recent cut.

The housing market is stuck in an unending circle of gridlock: Buyers aren't inclined to purchase a home because mortgage rates and home prices are too high (they're up 1.7% year over year at $440,004, according to Redfin). And homeowners don't want to sell their homes to trade for a higher mortgage rate and out of fear they won't get what they think their home is worth.

Home flipping exploded during the Pandemic Housing Boom, as surging home prices and low interest rates lured investors into the fix-and-flip market. But the 2022 interest-rate shock abruptly ended the frenzy and created the biggest home-flipping pullback since the 2007 bust. This home-flipping slump continues to drive out many newcomer flippers and force veteran operators to adjust to slimmer profits.

In August, Redfin data shows that there was a 23% yearly decrease in the number of Canadian homebuyers searching for properties in the Orlando metropolitan area. In total, Canadian home searches have fallen in 46 of the 50 largest U.S. metros, with the largest declines in West Palm Beach, Florida (26.6%), followed by Anaheim, California (-26%), Columbus, Ohio (-26%), Detroit (-25.5%) and Los Angeles (-25.5%).

Debt consolidation has emerged as the dominant driver of home equity borrowing and a key theme that loan officers reported 81% of loan officers told HomeLight that they've seen a spike in homeowners borrowing against their equity, with 29% qualifying this as a significant increase and 52% calling it a slight increase. In 2025, 87% of loan officers told HomeLight that debt consolidation was the main reason borrowers accessed their equity through home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).

Part of the decline can be attributed to a continued gradual compression of the " mortgage spread" -the difference between the 10-year Treasury yield and the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate-as some investors slowly regain their appetite for mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and help fill the void left by the Federal Reserve when it stopped buying MBS in spring 2022. The other factor putting downward pressure on mortgage rates-and long-term yields-has been a recent stretch of softer-than-expected labor market data and financial market's growing expectation that the Fed will shift policy from restrictive to neutral.

Homebuilders in the U.S. are cautiously optimistic as mortgage rates have dropped near 6%, offering a potential boost to a sluggish housing market. Despite disappointing housing permit data, this dip in rates could revitalize homebuilding activity, which has been weighed down by elevated mortgage rates and growing home inventory. Housing permits, which have been declining since early 2022, took another downturn today with the latest housing starts data.

While builders continue to contend with rising construction costs, a recent drop in mortgage interest rates over the past month should help spur housing demand, Buddy Hughes, the NAHB chairman, said in a statement. As builders look to improve buyer traffic and offload inventory in September, 39% of them turned to price cuts, up from 37% in August, marking the highest percentage post-Covid. The average price cut made by these builders remained at 5%, where it has been since November of 2024.