A resilient labor market may finally be bowing under the pressure of back-and-forth tariffs, the now five-month-long war against Iran and inflationary pressure on wages, with the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reporting a decrease of 23,000 payrolls in July with downward revisions of previous months. Most sectors lost jobs, with healthcare a notable…
Mortgage rates continued their upward march, coming in above year-ago levels for the first time in 44 weeks, but economists are pointing to improving trends in housing inventory and list prices as a silver lining for buyers. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate (FRM) rose three basis points this week to 6.69%, up from 6.66%…
Those shopping for a home or a refinance for a lower rate appear to be moving back to the sidelines this past week, as application activity for both has declined for a second consecutive week following mortgage rates rising to their highest point in more than a year. The latest Market Composite Index from the…
The post Home Shoppers Pull Back as Rates Hit Highest Point in Over a Year appeared first on RISMedia.
The continued summer slowdown in the housing market could see an uptick in transactions before fall, but economists are pointing to an array of economic and geopolitical headwinds that could possibly drive mortgage rates even higher as the spark. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate (FRM) rose another 8 basis points this week to 6.66%,…
Inflation cooled in June according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), meeting economists’ expectations for the month. However, the trend may not continue as the Iranian conflict persists. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index slipped 0.1% month-over-month in June, a reversal of the 0.7% jump seen in May. This…
Despite near annual highs of the 30-year average mortgage rate, home-purchase application activity had been holding steady or even modestly increasing in recent weeks, attributed to the rise in home inventory. That trajectory flipped this week with a dip in mortgage applications as rates hit another record high since last August. The latest Market Composite…
Up and down, up and down. Like a yo-yo dieter’s weight, consumer confidence in the U.S. seems to maintain a consistent pattern. It rose in June when tensions in the Middle East seemed to abate, following a dip in May, likely due to the war with Iran heating up. A ceasefire this past April had…
The post Consumer Confidence Edges Down Amid Economic Uncertainty appeared first on RISMedia.
The typical summer sales slowdown is being made worse, economists say, by renewed geopolitical tension in the Middle East, putting upward pressure on inflation and causing more financial strain for would-be buyers. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate (FRM) rose 3 basis points to 6.58% from 6.55% last week, and the 15-year FRM averaged 5.96%,…
Housing has spent 2026 running in place, and Zonda Chief Economist Ali Wolf doesn’t expect the picture to change much before 2027. Wolf delivered the national portion of Zonda’s third quarter housing market forecast webinar on Tuesday, saying that existing- and new-home sales are tracking essentially flat with 2025, with the firm now calling 2026…
Economists touted regional improvements to housing inventory for the increase in home-purchase application activity this week but cautioned the uptick will likely be short-lived with oil prices rising as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The latest Market Composite Index from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)—its measure of mortgage loan activity…
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