Mortgage rates

Homebuilders and real estate investment trusts outperformed the broader market as investor appetite shifts toward more defensive, cash-producing sectors.

Freddie Mac's survey finds the 30-year fixed loan dropped 3 basis points, but Zillow's tracker showed since the FOMC announcement, they dropped 30 basis points.

For the first time in about 15 months, more new listings came on the market in August on a year-over-year basis, Redfin said.

At the same time, the 15-year fixed rate loan rose above 7% for the first time in nearly 23 years, Freddie Mac reported.

The Fed's higher for longer statements have pushed up the 10-year Treasury in recent weeks to levels last seen in 2007 and that is affecting pricing.

But the industry will still have to go through some pain in 2024, Wharton Professor Susan Wachter told attendees at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention.

While great progress has been made towards the goal of reducing capacity by 30%, job reductions should continue for several more quarters.

The average interest rate for the 30-year loan rose for the fifth consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac, but Treasury yields did move lower.

The Federal Reserve Governor's remarks sounded somewhat less hawkish than her comments on Oct. 2, when she said multiple rate hikes would likely be needed to contain price pressures. 

Lenders are rolling out less sensitive products such as adjustable rate loans and non-qualified mortgages.

Top Fed officials are coalescing around the idea that tighter financial conditions after a recent surge in U.S. Treasury yields may substitute for additional increases in their benchmark interest rate.

Should the Federal Reserve step back into the market and restart their loan purchase activity?

While some observers believe that by year-end, the 30-year FRM would be lower than current levels, chatter about an 8% mortgage exists.

Most consumers see their experience in the housing market giving them more pressure than life events like dating or potty training.

Public policy experts debated the effect of rising rates on the mortgage market, the impact on homebuyers and ways that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could exit conservatorship at the National Mortgage News Digital Mortgage Conference.

Even as Freddie Mac's survey put rates at their highest since December 2000, factors like rising oil prices and a government shutdown could slow the economy.

The month-to-month decline was larger than all estimates received by Bloomberg in a survey of economists.

The rise in rates — 10-year Treasury yields are up over a percentage point since mid-May — is one of a series of shocks buffeting what's been a surprisingly resilient economy.

The triple threat of tight supply, elevated prices and historically high mortgage rates continues to weigh on sales, even as home builders are offering incentives to potential buyers.

The morning after, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield touched a 52-week high, but Freddie Mac reported a 1 basis point jump.