Economy

Whether current conditions favor buyers or sellers is up for debate, as economic uncertainty begins to influence consumer behavior, The Real Brokerage said.

Don Layton, former Freddie Mac CEO, and self-proclaimed "GSEologist" predicts that a release of the two entities will occur within four to six years.

The International Monetary Fund lowered its economic growth projections for 2025, citing policy uncertainty. It also urged central banks to stand ready to use macroprudential tools to facilitate lending in a potential recession.

House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., led a group of Democrats in challenging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the current state of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage average rose 21 basis points this week, lagging other indicators, which are all now lower than seven days ago.

In a post on his social media platform Thursday morning, the president criticized the Federal Reserve's reluctance to lower rates and said the chair's departure "could not come soon enough."

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that actions that undermine the apparent stability of the U.S. economy could have lasting effects on its status as a global safe haven.

The highly volatile interest rate environment will actually result in higher refinance mortgage volume than previous forecast for 2025 and 2026.

Federal Reserve Board member Christopher Waller said he would not be deterred from classifying inflation as "transitory" despite the board's recent experience underestimating inflationary pressures.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it will not enforce or supervise nonbank financial firms that miss upcoming compliance deadlines for the nonbank registry of repeat offenders.