Economy

It's a toss-up between a recession or a soft landing, though some, including Fannie Mae's Doug Duncan, still believe a downturn is more likely than not.

The 30-year fixed, which was threatening going above 7% again according to Freddie Mac data, was 18 basis points lower this week.

Residential starts fell 8% last month to a 1.43 million annualized rate, according to government data released Wednesday.

Despite the improvement in sentiment, the homebuilder index remains below end-of-2021 levels, when mortgage rates were lower

The U.S. economy has a better chance of avoiding a recession in the next 12 months following recent positive data on economic activity and inflation, according to Jan Hatzius, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 

The share of homeowners late by 30-59 days got slightly higher but remained below 1%, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

However, both Zillow's and Optimal Blue put the 30-year fixed mortgage lower than where it was seven days prior.

Democratic senators including Banking Chair Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren want to restrict tax breaks for large corporate investors that buy local homes and often drive up costs.

A resilient U.S. economy, lingering inflation and comments from the Federal Reserve contributed to a 10-basis-point hike in the 30-year fixed rate, Freddie Mac said.

The new review requirements are set to go into effect in mid-September and will replace temporary guidance put in place following a 2021 building collapse.