Economy

Policy experts say the mix of proposals put forth by the White House could ease the nation's housing shortage, but success will be neither quick nor assured.

Fannie Mae's latest forecast now predicts rates to be half a percentage point higher, and volume to be $1.5 trillion lower than previously expected in 2024.

Some potential sellers are realizing that waiting for lower rates might not be worth it given the amount of equity they have, Zillow said.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate for conforming loans fell, according to Freddie Mac, even as the 10-year Treasury yield rose nearly 18 basis points from the start of this week.

The community development financial institution was the nation's top non-qualified mortgage lender last year, according to one ranking.

The Congressional Budget Office put an estimate on the net government subsidy provided to the Federal Home Loan Bank System, including the so-called "implied guarantee," on bonds priced and sold to investors.

But those rates are still relatively high, and that is a barrier to entry for potential homebuyers, Freddie Mac said.

Continued failure to bring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of conservatorship will lead to see-saw mortgage policy every time the White House changes hands, which is against the intent of the GSE statutes that indicate a desire for stable secondary markets, writes the Principal at public affairs firm TVDC.

The latest inflation news has created concern that the Federal Reserve's pivot on short-term rates could be delayed.

While mortgage volume should rise this year, the government-sponsored enterprise expects slightly less activity than it did back in January.

Since mid-January, "we have seen a meaningful uptick in demand that has continued through this past weekend," Toll Brothers Chief Executive Officer Doug Yearley said in an earnings call Wednesday. 

Comparable sales fell 3.5% in its fiscal fourth quarter, Home Depot said Tuesday.

Investors have hammered the New Jersey-based lender following the turmoil at New York Community Bancorp. But Valley executives say there are key differences between the two real estate-focused banks, and they express confidence that the bank's underwriting will hold up again this cycle.

The public retirement fund, one of the biggest in the US, said four years ago it would review all of its fossil-fuel holdings as it sought to reduce investment risks linked to climate change.

The government-sponsored enterprise financed 955,000 mortgages last year, down from the 1.8 million loans it backed in 2022.

The year-over-year gain was 1.3 percentage points higher in the most recent period compared with the third quarter last year, the National Association of Realtors found.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen didn't directly address the turmoil at New York Community Bank, and said that while some smaller institutions could be hit by a changing commercial real estate market, she doesn't anticipate these mortgages will become a systemic risk.

Fannie Mae is implementing a new prohibition for traditional valuations and addressing the possibility of the National Flood Insurance Program lapsing.

While the Freddie Mac survey reported just a 1 basis point increase from last week, Zillow's tracker found a 30 basis point rise in the 30-year fixed, more reflective of what happened in the bond market.

The top five states have an average realtor commission rate of 6.04%.