Mortgage rates

Generally positive news about the U.S. economy helped push rates lower, but worries about Congressional infighting over the debt ceiling could reverse the trend, Freddie Mac and Zillow said.

Single-family property values during the year's final three months rose 9.2% year-over-year, but that bump fell below the 13.1% annual rise in the prior quarter.

The 30-year fixed loan rate dropped 15 basis points compared with last week as bond market investors acted in advance of this morning's Consumer Price Index report.

With Control Your Price loan officers can lower the interest rate by up to 40 basis points on a loan and by 1.25 percentage points across their pipeline.

However, trackers from Optimal Blue and Zillow found that rates moved in line with the drop in the 10-year Treasury yield.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George said the central bank should raise its benchmark interest rate above 5% and hold it there well into 2024 to bring inflation down.

The 30-year fixed rate surged 15 basis points from a week earlier but ends 2022 at more than twice its mark from a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes decreased 4% last month to 73.9, the lowest outside of the pandemic in data back to 2001, according to a release Wednesday.

The sharpest run-up in rates seen in over three decades slashed mortgage origination volumes, and contributed to a volatile market environment, but had some cyclical benefits for servicing.

But the 15-year interest rate rose last week, in line with 10-year Treasury yields, as bond investors used a quiet week to reflect on broader trends.

This was the fifth week in a row the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported a decline in the 30-year rate after peaking at 7.08%.

And having a paperless process was an important reason for many in picking their originator, the National Survey of Mortgage Originations found.

Borrowers' affordability concerns drove activity lower than normal seasonality in November would indicate, Black Knight said.

Following peaking at 7.08% on Nov. 10, the 30-year fixed has come down three-quarters of a percentage point, Freddie Mac said.

Home prices, sales volumes, interest rates are expected to drop next year, researchers at the company forecasted.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury in particular tumbled 11 basis points between Wednesday's close and Thursday's open.

But the rapid drop could be enhancing the volatility that is keeping buyers out of the market, Freddie Mac said.

Rising mortgage rates also led to the highest level of listing price reductions as well as the largest annual drop in pending home sales, Redfin found.

A Fannie Mae survey says 36% get only one quote, while a separate Zillow study found 72% don't plan to look for options.

Contract closings decreased 5.9% to an annualized pace of 4.43 million last month, according to the National Association of Realtors