Turmoil in Congress is making headlines, but will it impact the economy – and the mortgage industry – more broadly?
The House this week voted 216 to 210 to remove Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his position as speaker. He was the first speaker to be ousted through a vote in the middle of a congressional term.
No new speaker has been appointed, though several Republicans have put themselves in the running.
“It’s uncharted territory because we’ve never done that in the history of the United States,” Matthew Green, a politics professor at Catholic University, told CBS News.
The short-term impact of this week’s turmoil has been felt immediately in the mortgage market.
Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao said that…
Mortgage loan application volume fell by 5.4% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 5.4%. The adjusted purchase index dropped 4%, while the unadjusted purchase index increased by 7% and was 17% lower YOY. The refinance index fell by 8% and made up 29.6% of total applications, down 78% from the same time last year. ARM activity fell to 9.5% of total applications. “Mortgage rates decreased for the second week in a row, as growing concerns over an economic slowdown and increased recessionary risks kept Treasury yields lower. Mortgage rates have increased sharply thus far in 2022 but have fallen 24 basis points…
Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index hit an all-time high since at least 2017 as the number of listed homes remains seasonally elevated compared to past years. The report shows the market speeding up, with an increasing number of homes selling in two weeks or less and demand increasing even as listings trend down. “The economy is recovering strongly and mortgage rates are still near all-time lows. Those two forces combined have caused homebuying demand to hit a record high,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. For homes sold in the four-week period ending November 14, the median sale price rose 13% year-over-year (YOY) to $357,881, up 30% from 2019 and 2.1% from October. Asking prices were also up 13% YOY, and…
