A cooling labor market reported this week with unemployment rising slightly, while in line with expectations, did little to move mortgage rates, economists report. The latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), released by Freddie Mac Thursday, shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 6.21%, a slight decline of one basis point from last week’s rate…
Portal giant Zillow largely receives listings from MLSs via internet data exchange (IDX) feeds, but at least in one major metro, that feed may soon see some disruptions. This year, Zillow has been in dispute with the Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) MLS, covering Chicago and surrounding areas and which boasts over 48,000 subscribers. Now,…
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said Monday that he expects a rapid decline in housing-related inflation despite higher costs for other items. He also suggested interest rate cuts may be warranted even as overall inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target. In his speech at Columbia University, Miran noted that current shelter inflation readings reflect…
There are all kinds of numbers available for people to ponder as they set on the path to homeownership. Every month the National Association of Realtors® releases a home-purchase affordability report which provides the latest national facts and figures regarding qualifying income needed to buy a home, current average mortgage rate, median family income and…
With the last FOMC meeting and interest rate cuts of the year in the rear-view mirror, combined with typical holiday time slowdowns, economists were not surprised to see a decrease in mortgage applications this week. According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report, the Market Composite Index—the measure of mortgage loan activity volume—decreased 3.8%…
Editor’s note: this is part one of a two-part series—look for part two in our upcoming newsletters. 2025 was another whirlwind year for real estate, with industry professionals facing ups, downs and everything in between. The industry saw a lot of major developments, and it can be hard to keep track of everything—from historical tariffs…
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller argued at a Yale University CEO Summit today that the central bank should press forward with rate cuts even as job growth stalls near zero. He also offered a sobering observation about the housing market: lower rates may not matter much if potential homebuyers are too worried about losing their…
The labor market continued to see growth in November, although with little net change since April, and the unemployment rate had little change from September, according to the latest Employment Situation Summary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), delayed due to the government shutdown. The latest jobs report saw employment grow by 64,000…
The news is good for real estate agents. At the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Real Estate Forecast Summit, held remotely earlier this month, Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist & VP of research, highlighted data showing that 88% of buyers use an agent to help them navigate the home transaction process. Additionally, the use…
Builder confidence remained in negative territory for the final month of 2025—as it did throughout the year due to continued economic and market challenges—though there’s some hope for a better year in 2026, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) data. The December NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) found that builder…
| Newer Posts | Older Posts |