Freddie Mac

Mixed economic signals left mortgage rates flat over the past seven days, with experts suggesting the end of Federal Reserve policy hikes might be coming as well.

Persistent inflation concerns drove the 30-year average up 41 basis points this month.

The 30-year fixed rate surged 15 basis points from a week earlier but ends 2022 at more than twice its mark from a year ago.

Scores will be assigned to all loan pools created since 2010, including future securitizations, and are expected to help investors determine the share of mortgages meeting specific characteristics.

Both the 30- and 15-year averages are now more than 3 percentage points higher from their levels of one year ago.

Comments from Federal Reserve officials in Jackson Hole last week have markets bracing for further tightening of monetary policy in the near term.

Better-than-expected economic data helped lead to the steep acceleration of the 30-year average, while the 15-year also shot up.

On a combined basis, the GSEs performed better under this year's scenario than they did in 2021, but the Federal Housing Finance Agency said changes were still needed.

Following their largest drop in over a decade one week ago, averages rapidly swung upward as recession talk receded.

The move builds on the government-sponsored enterprise’s previous program that facilitated the collection of more rent payment records from tenants who work with its multifamily borrowers.