Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon. The numbers: Mortgage rates continue to reach new highs each week, quickly climbing in the 7% range and hitting a “nearly three year high,” as noted by Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO Bob…
The mid-September Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting came with a unanimous vote to hike interest rates, after many economists predicted that outcome. Minutes from the meeting released today, however, reveal some of the thinking behind that decision. The minutes offer a closer look at the reasoning behind the Fed’s rate hike. Based on…
Unemployment continues to remain steady around the 4% range, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The latest Employment Situation Summary from the BLS reports that the unemployment rate grew slightly—but not dramatically—to 4.2%, with the addition of 29,000 jobs. Previously, the unemployment rate sat at 4.1% for August. Categories like construction and manufacturing…
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that inflation grew at a faster rate throughout August, possibly contributing toward the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise rates in mid-September. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.3% on a monthly basis, a slight increase from July’s index increase of 0.2%. On a yearly basis, inflation…
Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon. The numbers: Mortgage rates peaked to a new high this week, climbing back up to the 7% range for the first time in 2026 and hitting their “highest level since May 2024,” as noted by…
After their long-awaited meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously voted to raise federal funds rates by a quarter of a percentage point, moving the target range for interest rates 25 basis points, from 3.5%-3.75%, to 3.75%-4%. During a press conference following the meeting, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh cited the data from this past…
Agents and brokers are likely to continue encountering hesitant consumers, as the University of Michigan reports that preliminary sentiment dropped for the second month in a row on Sept. 11. The consumer sentiment index—which utilizes personal finances, business conditions and buying conditions to measure consumers’ attitudes toward the overall economy—now sits at 47.8 as a…
While the labor market briefly bowed under pressure this summer, August’s jobs numbers have “rebounded in a big way,” as characterized by Realtor.com® Senior Economist Jake Krimmel. The latest Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics saw the U.S. add 162,000 jobs in August, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.1%. Employment specifically…
In a Sept. 1 speech at the Second Chance Lending Forum in Washington, D.C., focusing on the economic outlook and financial inclusion, Federal Reserve Governor Michael S. Barr noted that the labor market is stable with relatively low unemployment, with the economy growing solidly, “powered in part by the boom in AI-related business investment and…
Above, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh Real estate professionals anxiously awaiting lower mortgage rates may not see a decrease anytime soon, as it remains uncertain what action the Federal Reserve will take at its September meeting. In his debut speech at the 2026 Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium Friday in Wyoming, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh…
| Older Posts |