Originations

The government-sponsored enterprise financed 955,000 mortgages last year, down from the 1.8 million loans it backed in 2022.

January volume increased 36% compared to the month before and the annual decline in activity was the lowest in almost two years, Optimal Blue said.

Only a few dozen mortgage firms could likely afford the $7 million ad for this year's big game, a marketing veteran said.

While the Freddie Mac survey reported just a 1 basis point increase from last week, Zillow's tracker found a 30 basis point rise in the 30-year fixed, more reflective of what happened in the bond market.

The majority of users are looking for new credit lines and others want to improve their scores. Credit monitoring by consumers may be a good indicator of both, Transunion found.

As a result, a robust housing market is now on the horizon, Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater declared.

A key Senator had urged Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower rates early this year, but although there's more consensus on making such a move, it now looks unlikely to happen until after the next meeting.

A potential buyer with a budget of $3,000 per month for their payments is now able to afford an approximately $453,000 home.

Its January forecast reverses the call first made in April 2022 that the U.S. economy would slip into an extended downturn.

A common concern in housing finance reactions has been the lack of accommodation for strategies routinely used to manage credit, rate and liquidity exposures.