Mortgages

Purchases of new single-family homes decreased 5.6% to a 679,000 annualized pace last month, government data showed Monday.

Even if the 30-year fixed were to slip further to 6.4%, it is not enough to end the seller's strike, economists said.

Also, Wells Fargo, Finance of America entered into partnerships affecting real estate tax and cybersecurity solutions.

Follow-through has been weak, but there's hope lower mortgage rates could improve conditions, according to new housing reports from Redfin and MBS Highway.

The market's reaction to the Consumer Price Index report on Tuesday helped to push the 10-year Treasury and 30-year fixed-rate loan lower, Freddie Mac said.

With a scarcity of listings driving high home prices, both repeat and new purchasers are putting the most money down in decades, the report found.

Relationships with brokers will be terminated on Dec. 6, but company officials stressed there would be no impact to its loan servicing or other mortgage channels.

Loan activity overall came in higher for the second week in a row, with interest rates flattened following an extended volatile period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Higher expenses pushed per-loan losses further into the red for the first time in three quarters and with lower production expected through the first three months of next year, the picture remains bleak.

The withdrawal of pandemic housing relief and high home prices have heightened consumer strain, according to nonprofit Money Management International.