Mortgage rates

Overall home loan application activity fell 6.6% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with volume resembling the frigid start to the year.

While Freddie Mac's weekly survey showed 30-year rates falling, other indicators paint a mixed picture for mortgage lenders and borrowers.

Most participants in a monthly Wolters Kluwer survey no longer think the next short-term rate reduction will be in March.

The 17.2% of mortgage borrowers nationwide with interest rates equal to, or greater than 6%, is the largest share since 2016, according to Redfin.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage continues to slip away from the 7% mark, Freddie Mac said, but experts still expect them to stay higher for longer.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration's focus with regard to bringing down borrowing costs is 10-year Treasury yields, rather than the Federal Reserve's benchmark short-term interest rate.

After repeatedly blasting Janet Yellen last year over her department's strategy for issuing federal debt, it's now up to Scott Bessent to make the call on sales of Treasuries, with bond dealers conflicted over what he'll do in a pivotal release due Wednesday.

Mortgage rates declined by one basis point this week, not enough to change the equation to bring consumers back into the housing market, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage experts were expecting the first FOMC meeting under President Trump would have more significance in the long run than short-term, with some wild cards.

Mortgage experts were expecting the first FOMC meeting under President Trump would have more significance in the long run than short-term, with some wild cards.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans said stubbornly high mortgage rates are keeping them from moving, so they are planning to fix up their homes, Angi found.

With the growth in the use of government products, further increases in late payment rates over the coming year are likely, ICE Mortgage Technology said.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell back under 7% this week, the Freddie Mac survey found. But Treasury yields started rising again in recent days.

Higher mortgage rates will persist through 2026, affecting sales and refinancings. Those expectations led Fannie Mae to cut its volume outlook for the next two years.

A gauge of the outlook for home purchases over the next six months dropped 6 points to 60, the first decline since June, according to the NAHB and Wells Fargo.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage topped 7% for the first time since last May, although late in the week, the 10-year Treasury peaked before reversing course.

For those unsettled by the relentless rise in government bond yields in the US and across much of the world lately, the message from markets is getting clearer by the day: Get used to it.

Mortgage lenders increased their offerings of adjustable-rate and cash-out refinance loans in December as rates rose, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage continues to close on the 7% mark. With political uncertainty and the U.S. economy remaining strong, it could keep going up.

In the US, the 10-year Treasury yield rose as high as 4.73% Wednesday, pushing it toward the 5% peak hit in October 2023, before pulling back down.