Mortgage rates

The most borrowers in three years currently qualify for refinancing as the average for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped below 4% for the first time in over a year, according to Black Knight.

Mortgage company merger and acquisition activity should continue to increase in 2019 as loan production costs rise and originations stay flat.

Mortgage application fraud risk declined for the first time since last summer because the home sales market became less competitive with an easing of the inventory shortage, First American said.

As the bond market drives yields down because of the economic turmoil, mortgage rates moved in concert, dropping below 4% for the first time since January 2018, according to Freddie Mac.

Contract signings to purchase previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in April, adding to signs the housing market is struggling to regain momentum.

Mortgage prepayment speeds may rise with the strong U.S. rate rally, and that may be cause for alarm for mortgage investors.

With the starter home inventory shortage pressuring first-time homebuyers to act, four out of five millennial purchasers lament at least one aspect of their mortgage, according to Zillow.

Consumer worries over the direction of the U.S. economy affected mortgage application activity this past week even as interest rates remained flat or declined, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

From secondary markets along the East Coast to the heart of the Midwest, here's a look at cities where consumers are losing ground in purchasing power as summer approaches, based on changes in housing values compared to local wages and mortgage rates.

Sales of new homes cooled in April from an 11-year high amid a surge in prices, adding to signs of softness in housing at the start of the quarter.

The decline in average mortgage rates since the start of the year is driving higher purchase demand, especially at the higher end of the market, according to Freddie Mac.

With mortgage rates falling to their lowest level in over a year, refinance volume drove this week's increase in application activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly cooled in April, the fifth drop in six months, signaling a rocky start for the housing market this quarter amid a still-tight supply of available properties.

The era of plentiful refinance volume is over for the foreseeable future, because mortgage rates remained in a very narrow band for the past decade, said Mortgage Bankers Association Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.

Single-family home prices in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties changed course, climbing up in April after falling year-over-year in March.

Mortgage activity plunged before the start of the year, but subprime originations dropped the least, according to TransUnion. Despite dwindling volume, borrower delinquency rates hit historic lows in the first quarter.

Mortgage rates descended through the onset of spring's home buying season, pushing up the share of refinance loans and volume of new-home purchase applications, according to Ellie Mae and the MBA.

Even if the U.S. economy slows during the rest of 2019, the outlook for the housing and mortgage market remains strong, said economists at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

New-home construction rose for a second month and topped estimates in April in a sign of positive momentum for the housing sector at the start of the second quarter.

Market reaction to the trade dispute with China led to a modest decline in mortgage rates this week, but that shouldn't affect home sales in the coming months, Freddie Mac said.