Mortgage rates forecast

With economic expansion expected to keep churning through at least the first half of next year, Fannie Mae upwardly revised its single-family mortgage origination outlook for 2019 and 2020.

Fannie Mae increased its mortgage origination forecast as lower interest rates, driven by economic uncertainty, will lead to more refinance activity, but other factors will continue to hold back home purchases.

While mortgage rate optimism kept consumer confidence about the home purchase market high in June, affordability worries pulled overall sentiment lower, a Fannie Mae survey said.

Slower growth to interest rates and home prices will boost housing affordability in 2019, according to Fannie Mae.

Mortgage servicing assets are poised for gains in 2019. But as higher average mortgage rates spur lenders to sell servicing rights and diversify their loan offerings, servicers' work will also get more complicated and costly.

Average mortgage rates plunged after the United Kingdom first voted to leave the European Union. With uncertainty now growing about how Brexit will actually happen, here's a look at the implications for the housing market and mortgage lending.