New data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows applications for both home purchases and refinances fell significantly this week following increased mortgage rates and other market volatility in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East, economists said. According to the latest Market Composite Index from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)—its measure of mortgage…
Pending home sales saw a slight uptick in February, continuing an optimistic trend ahead of a long-awaited spring boom, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). However, this spring boom may now be delayed due to geopolitical tensions, economists warn. NAR’s Pending Home Sales report found that sales grew 1.8%…
The average mortgage rate remaining at or around the low 6% range continues to spur buyer activity, but economists warn it may not be enough to create a much-needed market shift in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty and wartime market volatility. The average mortgage rate ticked up 11 basis points to 6.11% this week,…
When the Federal Reserve began aggressively raising interest rates in 2022, many analysts expected home prices to fall. But they didn’t. Instead, they soared. A new analysis from the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University helps explain why—and the answer is summed up in mortgage rate locks. From the start of 2021…
With the war in Iran causing market volatility this past week including an average mortgage rate increase from below and back up over 6%, home purchase application activity increased for the fourth straight week. According to the latest Market Composite Index from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)—its measure of mortgage loan activity volume and includes…
After a brief dip into the fives, mortgage rates ticked back up this week and will likely continue to rise if the conflict with Iran escalates into a prolonged war, economists cautioned this week. “The launch of the conflict in Iran over the weekend and its subsequent escalation has stoked fears of wartime inflation that…
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. Michelle Bowman, a governor at the Federal Reserve and the Fed’s Vice Chair for Supervision, told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, February 26 that she intends to announce an update to the Basel…
Just in time for the spring buying season, average mortgage rates crossed “into the fives,” this past week, their lowest level in years, and one economists describe as a “psychological barrier and numeric threshold” that could bring more buyers into the market despite concerns over the economy. The latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), released…
Home loan application activity increased this past week, up slightly from the previous week and following the trend of steady average mortgage rates hovering around 6%, even dipping below for a few days this past week. According to the latest Market Composite Index from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)—its measure of mortgage loan activity volume…
As housing experienced some unprecedented levels of affordability and other challenges in recent years, some of the rules of buying and selling have seen a definite shift. As 2026 looks to be shaping up as the year of market stabilization, the question remains on many minds on how fast the rules may see a shift…
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