Economy

Residential starts increased 7% last month after falling by the most in over a year in August, according to government data released Wednesday.

Providing support to affordable rental developments is a key component in the Biden administration's efforts to increase housing supply.

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.

The lucrative broker commission system at the heart of the residential housing market is facing unprecedented antitrust scrutiny from the Justice Department and two private class-action lawsuits that risk weakening the National Association of Realtors, the industry's powerful lobbying group.

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

An analysis of previously released S&P data suggests the Federal Housing Finance Agency's initiative would have mixed impacts on the price of loans and eligibility that vary by individual.

Numbers the Federal Housing Finance Agency just reported for 2022 were the third lowest since the program began, and this year's probably won't be high either.

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

Policymakers should instead focus on how different components of core inflation are decelerating — with cooling still needed especially in housing inflation.

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.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said that consumer activity has slowed throughout the year, but should remain strong enough to position the economy for growth later in 2024.

The Department of Justice reached a $9 million settlement Wednesday with Westerly, R.I.-based Washington Trust over race-based lending discrimination and redlining in the state, saying the bank denied lending services to Black and Hispanic neighborhoods from 2016 to 2021.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a mortgage report based on statistics from 2022 and is looking for ways to simplify the refinance process while considering changes to mortgage servicing standards.

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

Doug Duncan explains why different players in the market have such contradictory takes on the real estate market right now and how to reconcile their varying outlooks.

Fewer of these mortgages are paying off, adding to the amount of credit on investors' books, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

And bond market pricing has moved higher in anticipation of today's Federal Open Market Committee announcement even though most expect no increase in short-term rates.

High mortgage rates and the lack of inventory for sale pushed the sector into a downturn twice recently - between May and November last year and in May of 2023 - according to First American

The 30-year fixed moved 6 basis points this week as investors digested the news from the Consumer Price Index report.