Housing markets

Housing experts who had previously worked at Fannie Mae and Treasury debated government support for long-term fixed-rate mortgages at a Cato Institute event.

Opendoor Technologies Inc. shares surged by as much as 69% Thursday after announcing the return of its co-founders to the board and a new chief executive officer. 

Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August, up from 0.2% in July, as weak job growth and lingering tariff uncertainty reinforce expectations for a September Fed rate cut.

Falling interest rates led to a rush in refinancing, but slowing purchase activity brought a decline in overall lock volumes, according to Optimal Blue.

An atypical summer for home price growth and mortgage rates approaching their lowest point in 12 months could entice sidelined buyers, Cotality said.

While August's views on buying conditions and rates increased over July, the other components in Fannie Mae's sentiment index all declined, driving it lower.

The 30-year conforming fixed rate mortgage ended this week at its lowest since last Oct. 17, helped by bond traders pricing in a reduction in short-term rates.

As Washington weighs a national housing emergency, U.S. homeownership has slipped year-over-year, according to Redfin.

A pickup in refinances was offset by the first pullback in purchases in four weeks in the run-up to Labor Day, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The increase represents a spot of good news for homebuilders in a year marked by uncertainty surrounding tariffs and still-challenging interest rate levels.

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Homebuilder stocks are headed for their best monthly performance in over a year as the housing market increasingly shows signs of life. 

The median monthly home loan payment fell $45 in July from June, although some of those payments are more expensive compared to the same time last year.

An index of contract signings slipped 0.4% last month to 71.7, around where it's lingered for much of the year, according to National Association of Realtors data released Thursday.

While borrowers took advantage of rate dips to refinance, purchases declined year over year, showing obstacles still standing in the way of a market turnaround.

The increase in purchase volume was not enough to offset the drop in refinance application submissions as conventional rates increased week-over-week.

The bank "temporarily" paused home equity line of credit lending in April 2020, over concerns regarding the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While still higher than the norm, the reduction in this spread is good news when it comes to mortgage rates for potential homebuyers as well as current owners.

Contract signings on new single-family homes ticked down to a 652,000 annualized rate, with the strongest demand in the West, according to a government report issued Monday.

A Redfin survey found that no matter what age demographic, owners are in a better situation to make their payments compared to renters.