Mortgage rates

Employment estimates for nonbank mortgage companies rose to a 2019 high as lower rates spurred consumer demand in August, but higher rates in September could mean future numbers will be weaker.

Real estate economists' outlook for single-family housing starts through 2021 weakened compared with six months ago even though they are relatively bullish on the economy, an Urban Land Institute survey found.

Economic issues were the biggest influence on average mortgage rates in the past week, although two trackers moved in different directions.

Millennials took advantage of mortgage rates falling to near three-year lows in August, increasing their refinance share to the highest percentage since December 2015, according to Ellie Mae.

Millennials — now more than ever — dictate the direction the housing market is moving in, and with the deceleration of starter home prices, more should become homeowners soon, according to CoreLogic.

Guild Mortgage, which originated loans on some of the first manufactured homes eligible for new lower-rate Fannie Mae financing, anticipates demand for this housing type will continue to grow this year.

The switch to a buyer's home purchase market, as well as fewer natural disasters helped drive the five-month-long decline in mortgage application fraud risk, First American said.

Neither boom nor bust, the Palm Beach County, Fla., housing market ended the summer selling season with a steady but unspectacular performance.

Economic uncertainty and high housing prices will put a damper on home sales next year, but low mortgage rates will offset that, pushing house prices to all-time highs in 2020, the California Association of Realtors forecast.

Rising demand and plummeting mortgage rates pushed multifamily origination dollar volume above 2017's record to a new peak, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.