Sales of previously owned homes rose in August to the highest in more than a year amid lower borrowing costs and sustained income gains, adding to signs the housing market is breaking out of a slump.

The spike in overnight repurchase agreements may prompt the Federal Reserve to expand its balance sheet.

Mortgage rates rose seven basis points compared with the prior week, but remained below 3.6% over four consecutive weeks for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2016, according to Freddie Mac.

The legislation takes aim at third-party bank service vendors, the backlog of FHA appraisals, rural housing assistance and other issues where there is broad agreement.

The bank started buying more Treasurys and mortgage-backeds over a year ago, long before talk about rate cuts. What did it know that its rivals didn't?

Mortgage rates tumbled to lows not seen since November 2016 as benchmark 10-year Treasury yields continue to decline due to investors' uncertainty over trade and the economy, according to Freddie Mac.

Millennials jumped to take advantage of low mortgage rates by refinancing at an increased share of 6 percentage points in June, according to Ellie Mae.

The U.S. government's trade war with China is pushing down yields on 10-year and 30-year Treasury notes.

The economic tensions between the U.S. and China drove interest rates down last week, leading to a surge in refinance applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Yields on the 10-year Treasury note fell 11 basis points on the morning of Aug. 5 as the trade dispute between the U.S. and China escalated.

June employment by nondepository mortgage bankers and brokers was little changed from the previous month, but later numbers could prove stronger given some influential lenders' interest in staffing up.

The regulators have yet to complete rules on regional bank supervision, community bank capital and other provisions meant to ease institutions' burden.

Mortgage rates were unchanged from last week, but going forward, they are likely to decline following investors' reaction to the Federal Open Market Committee's July 31 short-term rate cut announcement.

The Federal Reserve reduced short-term rates for the first time in years, and accelerated its plan to stop shrinking the Fed’s balance sheet by rolling maturing mortgage-backed securities into Treasuries.

Any growth in housing starts and home sales in the second half of 2019 will be muted by continuing inventory constraints and rising home prices, according to Freddie Mac.

Bond market investors acted cautiously in the wake of next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting and that likely resulted in mortgage rates moving lower this past week.

After three weeks of holding fairly steady, average mortgage rates ticked up this week, ironically due to investor optimism that the Federal Open Market Committee will cut short-term rates, according to Freddie Mac.

An important traditional tool of monetary policy has been diminished and may even become counterproductive in the future.

Bank of America says rate cuts could reinvigorate mortgages and that its digital and cards strategies will help it grab more market share to offset shrinking margins.

New-home construction fell in June for a second month as a drop in apartment building outweighed a pickup in single-family projects.