Mortgage rates

The Midwest was the main driver of the increase in pending sales, with a 10.6% jump, while contract signings in the South edged up 1.1%.

State and local governments borrowed nearly $9 billion for affordable housing so far this year — the most for the period in at least a decade.

Potential home buyers may be holding back in anticipation of lower rates to come in the second half of the year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

But home prices declined from December, both the Federal Housing Finance Agency and S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller found, a possible precursor to a cooling market.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage, the movements of which have been volatile in recent weeks, is expected to stay in the range of 6.5% for the first half of the year before trending down, Freddie Mac said.

Instability in mortgage rate movements should continue in the weeks ahead, even with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's comments on inflation.

The figures indicate the resale market is breaking out of a protracted slump due to high mortgage rates that discouraged homeowners from moving.

Rates won't fall far enough to drive meaningful mortgage volume gains this year, according to a Fitch Ratings analyst.

Fannie Mae's latest forecast now predicts rates to be half a percentage point higher, and volume to be $1.5 trillion lower than previously expected in 2024.

U.S. residential starts increased 10.7% in February, the largest since May, to a 1.52 million annualized rate, government data released on Tuesday disclosed.

Bond investors who were once convinced that the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates this week are painfully surrendering to a higher-for-longer reality and a murky path forward for the market.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate for conforming loans fell, according to Freddie Mac, even as the 10-year Treasury yield rose nearly 18 basis points from the start of this week.

Gen Z and millennials are more willing to take a higher mortgage rate in order to buy a home than Gen X and baby boomers, the ServiceLink report found.

Doma leadership said it has the technology and underwriting capabilities to allow the government-sponsored enterprises to handle the risk refi loans eligible for title waivers under a pilot announced by President Biden last week.

At current levels, monthly payments could surge by 39% between 2023 and 2025 for an approximately $250,000 loan, according to new research.

Fannie Mae's home price sentiment index grew to 72.8 in February, up 2.1 points from the month prior.

But those rates are still relatively high, and that is a barrier to entry for potential homebuyers, Freddie Mac said.

February was the second consecutive month where lenders eased underwriting, although overall availability remains near record low levels, the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The latest inflation news has created concern that the Federal Reserve's pivot on short-term rates could be delayed.

The company originated more loans to buy homes than Detroit-area rival No. 2 Rocket did in total during the fourth quarter.