Mortgage rates

Underlying U.S. inflation eased for a fourth month on an annual basis in July, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to lower interest rates next month.

Five other cities are now at over $1 million in median price, up from four in previous periods, the National Association of Realtors said.

The increase in refinance volume in July took place before the mortgage rate collapse in early August that brought the share to over 25%, Optimal Blue data showed.

The 30-year fixed rate loan was down 26 basis points as investors reacted early in the week to the employment numbers, according to Freddie Mac.

Additions to product menus for cash-out refinancings, adjustable-rate loans and jumbos drive the increase in availability, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Mortgage bonds tend to lag Treasuries when it's unclear where rates are going, because changes in yields can have a big impact on how many borrowers refinance their home loans.

Market turmoil is driving the 10-year Treasury yield downward and taking mortgage rates with it, putting more borrowers in the money to refinance, Intercontinental Exchange said.

Bond traders now see a roughly 60% chance of an emergency quarter-point cut by the Federal Reserve within one week because of the market turmoil.

There were reports of rates plummeting after new numbers Friday showed a notable drop in overall jobs but then moderating later in the day.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage was at its lowest level since early February as the benchmark 10-year Treasury dropped under 4%.

As Treasuries advance for a third-straight month, investors are fully pricing in at least two quarter-point rate reductions this year, slightly more than what policymakers have telegraphed.

But following the gross domestic product and personal consumption expenditures reports, Treasury yields and mortgage rates fell.

A run-up in mortgage rates and a constrained resale market has enabled builders to capitalize on the fractured U.S. housing landscape.

Lower inflation and a slowing jobs market is the driver of the new forecast, but housing will not see any immediate benefits.

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Both Vanguard Group Inc. and Fidelity International have said a Republican sweep in November would pose the greatest risk to bonds by expanding Trump's ability to implement his agenda, some of which is also expected to contribute to higher inflation.

Year-over-year consumer dollars for home remodeling projects should drop 0.5% by 2Q25, after a 3% decline for the trailing 12 months, said the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Even though the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is at its lowest level since mid-March, consumers are being cautious in returning to the market, Freddie Mac said.

Nearly all of the economists surveyed by Wolters Kluwer in July expect the FOMC to reduce short-term rates, but less of them expect it to happen at the September meeting than the number who believed so last month.

The resilience of the equity market has been underpinned by optimism the economy has withstood the worst of Fed tightening.