Economy

The Federal Home Loans Bank System is under pressure to fund more affordable housing and has several proposals that may work in tandem with Vice President Kamala Harris' goal of building three million new units in her first term.

While the Freddie Mac survey found the 30-year fixed fell 11 basis points, other indicators, including the 10-year Treasury yield, have all increased.

Fannie Mae's economists are pessimistic about the future for existing home sales, reducing its purchase volume outlook in both 2024 and 2025.

Rising property values continue to buffer mortgagors against negative equity situations, Corelogic said.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell week-to-week by the largest amount since the start of August and are now almost a percentage point lower than a year ago, according to Freddie Mac.

The latest inflation news is almost sure to result in a 25 basis point cut next week, but some are still hoping for 50 basis points, as well as reductions totaling almost 200 basis points through the end of 2025, Wolters Kluwer found.

Mortgage originators are adding more refinance-specific products, as rate locks continued to rise in August.

The 10-year Treasury yield was down by 10 basis points from a week ago, but Freddie Mac reported no movement in mortgage rates while other sources found that they were down by 7 basis points.

But the purchase business that brings in three times the fee size as refinancings will be the driver of the improvement for the publicly traded title underwriters.

The sale of the $318 million-asset portfolio comes five weeks after the Greenville, South Carolina-based company agreed to sell its investment advisory unit.