Mortgage rates improved for the second straight week according to new Freddie Mac data, showing a continued lean toward a more affordable market in the fast approaching 2026. The latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® found that the 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.19%, down from last week when it averaged 6.23%. A year ago…
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which measures American opinions of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months, declined by 6.8 points in November to 88.7 from 95.5 in October, as already negative consumer attitudes toward the economy appear to be souring further. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of…
In a delayed report on job growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Nov. 20, U.S. employers added 119,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate rising slightly to 4.4%. Employment continued to trend up in healthcare, food services and drinking places, and social assistance. Job losses occurred in transportation and warehousing and…
At the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting Dec. 9-10, the final one of 2025, the voting committee will decide whether to adjust interest rates—with one voting member, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, already making his voting intentions clear. In a Monday, Nov. 17 appearance at the Society of Professional Economists held at Oxford…
Buoyed by the reopening of the government on Thursday, a bit of optimism was in the air at NAR NXT, where Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun predicted a 14% increase in existing-home sales in 2026, along with a 5% increase in new-home sales, a 4% increase in the median home price, and mortgage rates settling…
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Since taking office on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in September, Stephen Miran has pushed for a looser monetary policy. At both the September and October Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings, Miran dissented from the majority vote to cut interest rates by a quarter point, in favor of a higher cut by half…
Without an end in sight for the government shutdown, consumer sentiment is reflecting that uncertainty, according to the latest data from the University of Michigan. The preliminary results for the Index of Consumer Sentiment came in at 50.3, down 6.2% from October’s reading of 53.6. Year-over-year, there was a 29.9% drop from 71.8 in November…
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook pointed to tariffs as the cause of a recent rise in inflation data during a Nov. 3 speech on economic outlook and monetary policy. During her speech, Cook noted the rise in inflation as of the September PCE report, which saw annual inflation hit “significantly” above the Fed’s 2% inflation…
Consumer reports of economic confidence are mixed in October as the government shutdown and other economic challenges persist. The latest Consumer Confidence Index from The Conference Board found that confidence fell by one point to 94.6 in October, down from an upwardly revised 95.6 in September. Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of Global Indicators at The…
Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon. – loanDepot has filed a lawsuit against West Capital Lending over trade secrets and contracts, as reported by National Mortgage Professional. loanDepot is alleging that West Capital orchestrated a large-scale employee raid and data…
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