Housing markets

The survey, taken before Pres. Trump's $200 billion MBS buy demand, finds panelists worried over inflation, but also see employment as the larger downside risk.

Late last year, commercial bank holdings of mortgage paper reached the highest level since 2023 as these depositories are flush with deposits.

National home prices grew monthly and annually in October, but considerably less than last year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The national mortgage delinquency rate jumped to 3.85% in November, up 15% month over month and 2.79% year over year, according to ICE Mortgage Technology.

The home purchase market, which competes for consumers with rentals, should remain subdued in 2026 because of high mortgage rates and low affordability.

After home equity surged in 2023, average gains slowed last year before falling into negative territory over the past 12 months, Cotality said.

Forty percent of Americans planning to buy or sell a home in 2026 worry about a potential market crash, according to a new report from Clever Offers.

Fed Gov. Stephan Miran has spent his short tenure at the central bank arguing that disinflation in housing and immigration reforms will tamp down inflation in the near term. But other economists say the timing, degree and context of those effects is very much in question.

Rate-and-term refinances dropped 14% month over month in October, but were still up 143% from last year.

Mortgage credit availability increased 2.3% to 106.8 last month, marking the fourth consecutive month of growth.

An index of contract signings held at 74.8 after climbing a revised 4.2% a month earlier to the highest level since March, according to National Association of Realtors data released Wednesday.

The NRMLA/Riskspan Reverse Mortgage Market Index set a new high of 502.42, with the dollar amount of home equity for those 62 or over reaching $14.4 trillion.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephan Miran said the economic standoff with China could increase market volatility, further necessitating the central bank to move its policy stance to neutral.

President Trump said big homebuilders are sitting on a record 2 million empty lots, and asked Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help restore the American Dream.

The average return on investment for flipped homes was 25.1% in the second quarter this year, the lowest point since the second quarter of 2008.

Falling interest rates led to a rush in refinancing, but slowing purchase activity brought a decline in overall lock volumes, according to Optimal Blue.

While August's views on buying conditions and rates increased over July, the other components in Fannie Mae's sentiment index all declined, driving it lower.

The 30-year conforming fixed rate mortgage ended this week at its lowest since last Oct. 17, helped by bond traders pricing in a reduction in short-term rates.

As Washington weighs a national housing emergency, U.S. homeownership has slipped year-over-year, according to Redfin.

A pickup in refinances was offset by the first pullback in purchases in four weeks in the run-up to Labor Day, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.