By PATRICK LAVERY
Saying he and the Federal Open Market Committee were “proceeding carefully,” Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell announced that they voted unanimously Wednesday to leave its policy interest rate unchanged for a third straight meeting.
This ensures that after more than a year of incremental hikes that eventually saw the key rate spike 5 1/4 percentage points dating back to the beginning of 2022, the target range will, for now, remain at 5.25% to 5.5%.
Most experts do not expect the FOMC to start bringing the rate back down again until the third quarter of 2024, owing that to Powell and the Fed’s continuing mandate to bring inflation down to 2%.
Total Personal Consumption Expenditures prices rose…
The labor market experienced unexpected gains last month, with nonfarm payrolls rising 199,000, adding to a 150,000 bump in October. Unemployment fell to 2.7%, workforce participation increased, and monthly wage growth saw their biggest boost of the year.
This paints a difficult picture for the Fed moving into its FOMC meeting, scheduled for this week.
The Central Bank prefers a slower hiring pace to help it combat inflation. Its rate hikes have moved the economy closer to its 2% inflation target, down from 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.2% last month.
Investors are hoping for cuts to federal funds rate sooner rather than later but November’s employment gains give the Federal Reserve more reason to hold interest rates at their…
The 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell nearly 20 bps in one week, almost hitting 7%.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.03%, down from the week prior’s 7.22%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.33%.
It is now down nearly 80 bps in the last six weeks.
The 15-year fixed rate fell to 6.29%% from 6.56%. A year ago, it averaged 5.67%.
Mortgage applications overall increased by nearly 3% last week as refinances saw their biggest gains in two months thanks to cooling rates.
But purchase demand reversed course, slipping slightly.
“When rates began to rapidly drop, purchase applications rebounded initially, but this improvement in demand diminished in the last…
Home prices hit another record high in September as stock shortages spurred competition for well-priced homes.
Year-over-year, prices rose 3.8%, up from 2.5% in August, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index.
Prices were up 0.3% month-over-month before seasonal adjustment and 0.7% after. This is the eight straight month of increases.
Prices were up month-over-month in 15 of 20 cities, and both the 10- and 20-city composites analyzed saw prices exceed both their year-ago and January levels.
The National Composite surpassed its previous record high with this data, and ten individual cities hit record-breaking prices.
“On a year-to-date basis, the National Composite has risen 6.1%, which is well above the median full calendar year increase in…
Mortgage rates slipped for a third consecutive week as Wall Street rallied around positive inflation data.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.44%, a modest decline from the week prior’s 7.5%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.61%.
The 15-year fixed rate fell from 6.81%% to 6.76%. A year ago, it averaged 5.98%.
“For the third straight week, mortgage rates trended down, as new data indicates that inflationary pressures are receding,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The combination of continued economic strength, lower inflation, and lower mortgage rates should likely bring more potential homebuyers into the market.”
The consumer price index for October dipped by 0.1% month-over-month and…
Even as buying a home is getting more expensive by the day, stock shortages are spurring serious competition among the few buyers on the market.
New listings fell nearly 5% last month, according to Zillow’s latest market report. While inventory is slowly recovering – 5% is actually a smaller decline than seasonally expected – it is still the lowest number of listings in any October recorded by Zillow since 2018.
Still, there are good indicators for inventory. Listings were down 1.2% YOY, the smallest since May 2022, and are down 19% compared to pre-pandemic levels, much better than April’s -35%.
In fact, total inventory actually rose 2.6% from September to October, though this was due to a downturn in sales,…
Treasury yields sank for a second week, pushing mortgage rates down in their largest single-week decline since last November.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.5%, down a full quarter point from 7.76%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 7.08%.
The 15-year fixed rate fell from 7.03% to 6.81%. A year ago, it averaged 6.38%.
But while this is undoubtedly good news for homebuyers, market headwinds continue to depress demand.
“Incoming data show that household debt continues to rise, primarily due to mortgage, credit card, and student loan balances,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Many consumers are feeling strained by the high cost of living, so unless mortgage…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage says they are investing in technology and hiring new team members in preparation for a turn in rates.
Leaders at UWM Holdings Corporation announced their third-quarter results on Wednesday. Total loan origination volume was $29.7 billion, of which $25.9 billion was purchase volume.
Net income was reported at $301 million, which includes a $92.9 million increase in the fair value of mortgage servicing rights and diluted earnings at $0.15 per share. This was the second consecutive quarter of profits for UWM despite industry-wide challenges.
Mat Ishbia, chairman and CEO of UWMC, said in a statement that the strength of the company and the broker channel is on full display.
“While others…
U.S. mortgage rates took their biggest one-week drop in more than a year last week.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported the contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell 25 basis points to 7.61%. That’s the lowest level since the end of September.
Market watchers point to the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to hold interest rates steady as one reason for the slide in mortgage rates, adding to hopes the housing sector will improve in the coming months.
The MBA also reported mortgage applications for home sales rose 3%. Mortgage brokers say it’s no surprise that with a tight market and plenty of frustrated would-be buyers, there was a surge in demand.
Refinancing activity ticked up as the refinance…
Borrowers struggling with rampant unaffordability are seeing some relief as mortgage rates cool, ending an upward swing.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.76%, down from 7.79%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.95%.
The 15-year fixed rate remained unchanged at 7.03%. A year ago, it averaged 6.29%.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage paused its multi-week climb but continues to hover under 8%,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
“The Federal Reserve again decided not to raise interest rates but have not ruled out a hike before year-end. Coupled with geopolitical uncertainty, this ambiguity around monetary policy will likely have an impact on the overall economic landscape and may continue…
